App Stores May Be Asked to Verify Users' Ages. Lawmakers Want Them To Have Checkpoints.
A growing movement in the US has lawmakers proposing that app stores, such as Apple's and Google's, have a responsibility to verify users' ages before they can download apps. The aim is to prevent young people from accessing content that may be harmful or unsuitable for their age group.
The idea comes with its own set of challenges however. One concern is the potential risk of hacking - if age information gets into the wrong hands, it could chill consumers from trying to access legal speech. In a 2004 US Supreme Court ruling, the justices found that similar measures on adult websites were not effective.
Activists and many lawmakers are now focusing their efforts on apps stores, seeing them as ideal checkpoints. By requiring app stores to collect age information, users would only have to provide this once when they download an app, rather than having to do so for each company every time they want to access its site.
In 2025, Utah passed the first version of the law that proposed age verification checks on apps. Similar versions were later passed in Texas and Louisiana. The method gained support from Meta, Snap, and X, developers who would benefit from age verification being largely on Apple's and Google's app stores rather than their own services.
However, the approach has been met with resistance from tech companies, including Apple which its CEO says is trying to protect users from what he calls 'aggressive' age verification laws. Meanwhile, Google has taken a different stance, backing the California model, which would require desktop or mobile operating systems to collect the age of the account holder when signing up to share it with app stores and apps.
The bills that have been offered in a recent House package of kids online safety bills are somewhat competing proposals. One law, the App Store Accountability Act, looks similar to laws in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana and would require strict age verification checks on app downloads. The other, the Parents Over Platforms Act, is backed by Google and would instead require app stores to collect users' ages when they create an account and send that information to developers.
It remains unclear how these proposals will work together if passed in both the House and Senate. The first legal test of this approach has reached a stumbling block with a federal judge blocking Texas's version of the law from taking effect later in 2026.
A growing movement in the US has lawmakers proposing that app stores, such as Apple's and Google's, have a responsibility to verify users' ages before they can download apps. The aim is to prevent young people from accessing content that may be harmful or unsuitable for their age group.
The idea comes with its own set of challenges however. One concern is the potential risk of hacking - if age information gets into the wrong hands, it could chill consumers from trying to access legal speech. In a 2004 US Supreme Court ruling, the justices found that similar measures on adult websites were not effective.
Activists and many lawmakers are now focusing their efforts on apps stores, seeing them as ideal checkpoints. By requiring app stores to collect age information, users would only have to provide this once when they download an app, rather than having to do so for each company every time they want to access its site.
In 2025, Utah passed the first version of the law that proposed age verification checks on apps. Similar versions were later passed in Texas and Louisiana. The method gained support from Meta, Snap, and X, developers who would benefit from age verification being largely on Apple's and Google's app stores rather than their own services.
However, the approach has been met with resistance from tech companies, including Apple which its CEO says is trying to protect users from what he calls 'aggressive' age verification laws. Meanwhile, Google has taken a different stance, backing the California model, which would require desktop or mobile operating systems to collect the age of the account holder when signing up to share it with app stores and apps.
The bills that have been offered in a recent House package of kids online safety bills are somewhat competing proposals. One law, the App Store Accountability Act, looks similar to laws in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana and would require strict age verification checks on app downloads. The other, the Parents Over Platforms Act, is backed by Google and would instead require app stores to collect users' ages when they create an account and send that information to developers.
It remains unclear how these proposals will work together if passed in both the House and Senate. The first legal test of this approach has reached a stumbling block with a federal judge blocking Texas's version of the law from taking effect later in 2026.
. I mean, don't get me wrong, security is important and all, but if young people can just stumble upon some sketchy content because they're underage, isn't that kinda like putting them in harm's way? 
than actually taking responsibility for what their platforms are hosting. And honestly, I get it - age verification can be a pain and it's not exactly the most elegant solution either.
. It might require some tweaking of their systems, but at the end of the day, that's just part of being a tech giant 
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. If Apple is trying to protect users, that's cool too 
, as long as they're not just being all sneaky about it 
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. If not implemented correctly, it could lead to a cat-and-mouse game between devs trying to find ways to bypass age verification and hackers exploiting vulnerabilities to get hold of users' personal info. It's a delicate balance to strike 
. It's great that lawmakers are pushing for change, but we need to make sure this isn't just another way for hackers to get our info 
. I hope it doesn't become a huge headache for developers or users, 'cause that would be a major bummer 
. Maybe we can find a happy medium where age verification is easy and secure? 
. And don't even get me started on hacking risks 
. Can't we just focus on making good stuff for everyone instead of creating more hoops to jump through?
. Now, it seems like lawmakers want to make sure our kids aren't getting access to stuff they shouldn't be looking at 
Apple's CEO says it's 'aggressive' laws, but I just think they want to keep their app stores all to themselves 
. Anyway, I guess if it'll help keep our kids safe, then maybe we should just roll with it 
...but can we please not make this too complicated? 
Plus, it feels like another way for governments to regulate online stuff, which can be super restrictive. What do you guys think? 
. and don't even get me started on the hacking risk - if some scum hacker gets access to all that info, it's just gonna open a whole can of worms 
.
. If someone gets their hands on our age info, they can use it to access all sorts of sensitive stuff - I'm talking credit cards, social security numbers... you name it. That's not cool, bro.
. If app stores just send over the age info when we create an account, that way everyone knows what they're getting into. No more sneaky 13-year-olds downloading adult content 
.
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That way we can all benefit from a safer internet without having to jump through hoops every time someone wants to download an app.
. Just want to see some progress on this front and make sure that any solution we come up with is fair for everyone involved 
... I mean, I get where lawmakers are coming from, but it's like, have you seen all the shady stuff out there online? 
. But at the same time, I get why some people might be worried about hacking and all that jazz 
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. They seem like they're trying to protect users from themselves 
. It makes sense that app stores would need to collect age info upfront, rather than every time you try to download an app.
And honestly, if tech companies like Apple and Google are making it so easy to hide behind age verification checks, it's just a PR stunt at this point.