Utah passed a first-in-the-nation law Wednesday requiring app store operators like Apple and Google to verify the ages of users before allowing downloads.
Dubbed the App Store Accountability Act, the Utah law also requires app stores to get parental consent for minors before downloads.
The measure passed as app store operators and social media firms like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Snap and Google-owned YouTube face intense scrutiny from policymakers over their failures to protect kids from harmful content.
In a rare step, Meta, Snap and X issued a joint statement praising Utah’s law.
The statement highlights a divide between the app store operators and social media companies, each of which claim the other side is better equipped to tackle age verification.
“Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it,” the companies said in a statement. “We applaud Utah for putting parents in charge with its landmark legislation and urge Congress to follow suit.”
Representatives for Apple and Google did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Chamber of Progress, a Big Tech-funded policy group that represents the interests of Apple, Google and many other firms, said in a blog post that the Utah law “sets a dangerous precedent.”
“While the bill purports to protect minors from inappropriate content, it ultimately imposes sweeping restrictions on the free speech rights of all Utahns,” the blog post said.
The bill now proceeds to the desk of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for final approval. If signed, the law would take effect on May 7.
Apple previously slammed requirements for age verification at the app store level in its most online safety report, arguing that doing so would require parents to fork over sensitive personal information and put their privacy at risk.
“While only a fraction of apps on the App Store may require age verification, all users would have to hand over their sensitive personally identifying information to us—regardless of whether they actually want to use one of these limited set of apps,” the company said.
Aside from Utah, at least eight other states have introduced similar bills related to age verification as lawmakers scramble to deploy measures that will protect kids online.
The bills represent another headache for Google and Apple, each of which face major pending Justice Department antitrust lawsuits that could upend their business models.
Other states have placed the onus on social media firms. Last June, New York state legislators passed a law that requires the companies to verify user ages and to get parental consent before allowing underage users access to algorithmic feeds.
As The Post reported at the time, Google and Meta spearheaded a massive lobbying effort in an effort to kill or weaken that New York bill.
With Post wires
