Last week, a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed Texas to implement a common-sense law requiring parental consent before minors can download apps. The fact that the tech industry is still fighting straightforward legislation to protect children from the ills of their products is dumbfounding, but not surprising.
Senate Bill 2420, also known as the App Store Accountability Act, requires digital distribution platforms, such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play, to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors under 18 to download or purchase apps. State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, authored this bill.
This state law is the bare minimum we can do. It’s at most a first filter to ensure children are not downloading apps that are not suitable for their age. There is abundant evidence, including scientific studies, documenting the risks social media apps pose to children. This includes suicidal ideation, behavioral disorders, access to pornography, bullying and illegal drug sales.
Yet the industry insists this law is unconstitutional on the grounds of free speech. The same argument has been repeated to prevent bills like Texas’ House Bill 186, which would have banned minors from opening social media accounts and the federal Kids Online Safety Act, which would have made social media platforms responsible for protecting children.
The fact that the Supreme Court declined to block enforcement of this state law is an important stepping stone. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will still have to decide if the law violates the First Amendment, but for now Google and Apple will have to verify users’ ages, require parental permission if needed and also inform parents whether the app is appropriate for their child’s age. This does not seem too hard to ask.
Some Big Tech companies have been adding better parental controls and placing restrictions on children using chatbots, but tech usually reacts only in the face of criticism, investigations and lawsuits.
Hopefully, the App Store Accountability Act creates some momentum. A similar bill was already filed at the federal level, but more legislation is needed to protect how children gain access to technology.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that app stores should be responsible for verifying users’ ages and not the platforms he leads, such as Instagram or Meta AI. This law embraces that narrow view. But responsibility should be shared at both the app and platform level.
Social media companies that do enormous social harm have gotten too much of a pass under the law.
That could be changing. In next year’s legislative session, an updated version of the social media ban bill has been announced, and new federal legislation is under discussion in Congress. Texas’ App Store Accountability Act is a first step in ensuring what we have known all along: Big Tech companies must ultimately be responsible for the content on their sites and who accesses it.
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