Apple, Google, and Meta Lobby for Competing State Age-Verification Rules
App store operators favor self-attestation and litigation shields, while Meta pushes state bills placing age verification on mobile app marketplaces.
Tech giants are backing competing legislative frameworks across U.S. states to shape how online platforms verify users' ages, according to a report from Politico aggregated by Techmeme.
Apple and Google have pitched state bills that use self-attestation for age checks rather than strict verification systems, while also including protections that prevent private lawsuits against companies over compliance failures.
In contrast, Meta is backing state legislation that shifts the burden of age verification away from individual applications and onto mobile app stores operated by Apple and Google. Under that approach, app marketplaces would verify user ages before downloads, relieving app developers of separate verification mandates.
The competing lobbying efforts reflect a clash of commercial and regulatory interests between operating system gatekeepers and social media platforms as states move to enact youth online safety requirements.
Sources
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