Texas set to enforce age verification on App Stores

A bill that requires Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores could become law this week in Texas, putting the second-most-populous state in the US at the center of a debate over whether and how to regulate the use of smartphones by children and teenagers.

Senate Bill 2420 would require app store owners to verify the age of the user of a device, and, if that user is below the age of 18, require parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases. Utah was the first US state to pass a similar law earlier this year, and US lawmakers have also introduced a federal

The Texas bill is awaiting Governor Greg Abbott’s signature after receiving super-majority approval from both houses of the Texas legislature. Another bill, which has not yet passed the state legislature, would restrict social media apps to users over 18.

The proposed law positions Texas at the heart of an intensifying global debate on how to safeguard children and teenagers in the digital age.

Meanwhile, how to implement age restrictions has caused a conflict between Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and Apple and Google, which own the two dominant app stores in the US

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last year said during a United States Senate hearing that he believed parents should not have to upload an ID or proof they are a parent in every single app that their children use.