Texas passes 'Children's Online Safety Act' to protect minors, requiring app stores to verify age and obtain parental consent when downloading apps or making in-app purchases
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law the so-called 'Child Online Safety Act' and 'App Store Accountability Act,' which are intended to protect minors who use smartphones and other devices to access the Internet. Google and Apple, which operate app stores, have voiced their opposition to the bill, arguing that it 'threatens user privacy.'
Texas Passes App Store Accountability Act, Strengthening Parental Oversight - Texas Politics
Texas governor signs law to enforce age verification on Apple, Google app stores | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/texas-poised-enforce-age-verification-apple-google-app-stores-2025-05-27/
Texas Adopts Online Child-Safety Bill Opposed by Apple's CEO - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-27/texas-adopts-online-child-safety-bill-opposed-by-apple-s-ceo
The bill, drafted by Senator Angela Paxton, is modeled after the App Store Accountability Act, which was passed in Utah and took effect on May 7, 2025. It is part of a larger initiative called 'Stop Sexualizing Children in Texas' and would require app stores to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent before allowing minors to download most apps or make in-app purchases. Other states are considering similar legislation.
App store operators Google and Apple argued that the move poses a risk to privacy, saying that 'it is not necessary for all app developers to know whether users are minors or not,' and that 'the app is pushing responsibility onto the stores, which should be the app's responsibility.'
Google criticizes bill requiring app stores to verify age, saying it's 'a unilateral imposition of child safety protection on app stores by Meta and other companies,' and claims that apps can handle child safety better than app stores - GIGAZINE
Apple CEO Tim Cook has called on Governor Abbott to veto or amend the bill.
'The new law will give parents more control over the online content their children can access,' Governor Abbott said.
In addition, Google's parent company Alphabet commented, 'We are considering next steps.' Apple said, 'While we care about children's safety, this law unnecessarily invades personal privacy. We believe there are better ways to keep children safe without millions of people having to give up their personal information.'
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