Meta, X, and Snap are celebrating a new Utah law that requires Apple and Google to verify the age of users in their app stores and be responsible for obtaining the consent of minors' parents.
The tech giant is fighting to determine which parties should be responsible for the age verification of the app store. Companies like Meta believe that the app itself needs to check the age of users. These entities host and distribute apps. However, the app claims that the company that is creating the app should be held responsible because it is the company that is providing the product to its end users.
Given such laws regarding age verification, Utah is not the only nation. It was the first time that this kind of law was enacted. As new laws are called, the App Store Accountability Act was passed by the Utah Legislature earlier this month, and then headed to Gov. Spencer Cox's desk for signing to make it official.
Before the law passed away, Apple announced its new Child Safety Initiative in the App Store. This includes the app's age check system. Its implementation allows app developers to access age range information provided by parents using the new declared age API. This information does not provide app developers with the exact age or date of birth of minors, but it allows you to properly customize the app experience based on the age range provided.
Apple's systems require app developers to do the work of requesting age ranges before an app is used.
Naturally, social media companies are excited that new Utah laws require app stores to check their users' age before downloading the app to their devices.
In a joint statement, Meta, X, and Snap praised Utah's move.
We praise Governor Cox and Utah for being the first in the nation to better manage teenage app downloads and to strengthen other states to consider this groundbreaking approach. Parents want a one-stop shop to oversee and approve many apps teens want to download, and Utah is leading the way in which it centralizes within the app store on their devices. This approach allows users to repeatedly send personal information to countless individual apps and online services. We are committed to protecting parents and teens and look forward to seeing more people in the state adopting this model.
In total, 16 US states, including California and Texas, have introduced their own version of App Store laws focusing on age verification and youth safety.