Apple CEO, Tim Cook met several US House members on Wednesday as the company continued to push back against a federal plan that could force app stores to verify user ages. The proposal has raised alarms inside the company, which says the rules may require collecting sensitive details from millions of users, including children.
The App Store Accountability Act aims to ensure minors do not access harmful online content. States such as Texas and Utah have already implemented similar laws and Australia introduced a nationwide restriction on social media use for users under 16 this week. While age limits for online platforms have broad public support, the debate has intensified among major tech companies. Apple and Google argue that verifying ages would lead to mass collection of documents like birth certificates. In contrast, Meta says app stores must be responsible for checking ages to enforce limits.
Apple, which has consistently resisted government involvement in user privacy, warned that the proposed federal law would force it to gather identifying information from nearly every Apple user. Cook met members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to outline these concerns. The company’s global head of privacy, Hilary Ware, said in a letter last week that “not all legislative proposals are equally protective of privacy or focused on holding all players in the ecosystem accountable.” She added that some proposals “would require the collection of sensitive information about anyone who wants to download an app, even if it is an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores.”
Public opinion strongly backs tighter controls for minors online. A 2023 survey showed that 81% of Americans support parental consent for children creating social media accounts and 71% support age checks before using social media. The discussion now centres on how to protect minors while avoiding excessive data collection and balancing responsibility between app stores, platforms and parents.
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