Utah requires app stores to verify ages in trailblazing child safety law

Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed new legislation on Wednesday that requires mobile app stores, including Apple and Google, to implement a user age verification process to protect children online.

The law, sponsored by Sen. Todd Weiler (R) and Rep. James Dunnigan (R), passed earlier this month. The bill takes effect on May 7.

'The apps are the first main gateway to how you protect children.'

Instead of age checks at app download, Utah's law mandates that app stores verify ages up front. The App Store Accountability Act, a first-of-its-kind law, requires providers to confirm users' age categories, secure parental consent for minors, and share that data with app developers. A minor may download or purchase an app or make in-app purchases only with consent from a linked parental account.

The act prohibits app stores from enforcing contracts against minors who did not receive parental consent or from "misrepresenting parental content disclosures."

Utah's Division of Consumer Protection has been tasked with establishing age verification standards.

Additionally, Utah's new legislation "creates a private right of action for parents of harmed minors," "provides a safe harbor for compliant developers," and "includes a severability clause."

The law permits parents to sue app providers that violate the act, claiming $1,000 per violation or actual damages.

Meta, X, and Snap Inc. issued a joint statement praising Utah's new legislation.

We applaud Governor Cox and the State of Utah for being the first in the nation to empower parents and users with greater control over teen app downloads, and urge other states to consider this groundbreaking approach. Parents want a one-stop-shop to oversee and approve the many apps their teens want to download, and Utah has led the way in centralizing it within a device's app store. This approach spares users from repeatedly submitting personal information to countless individual apps and online services. We are committed to safeguarding parents and teens, and look forward to seeing more states adopt this model.

A February report from the Wall Street Journal found that at least eight other states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia — were considering similar legislation.

Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, told Blaze News that Utah's new bill is "a very strong law" and a "good first step."

Schilling outlined the major threats facing children online.

"You want to protect children anywhere where people can get access to them," Schilling explained. "The apps are the first main gateway to how you protect children. So that's why I think it's a really great first step."

"Then next, we've got to start protecting kids from porn online directly by forcing the porn companies to do age verification," he continued, noting that 20 states have already implemented this requirement. "You've got to start protecting children and doing age verification for social media accounts in general."

Schilling told Blaze News that he anticipates that other states will soon enforce legislation similar to Utah's to protect children online.

"There is a huge movement of people in America that want to protect kids online, and it's now being translated to the political class — to the politicians and their staff," he said. "That is so critical and important to actually getting things done. You can't just change the culture or people's hearts and minds; you've actually got to legislate it."

Apple and Google did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Both have previously expressed privacy concerns regarding age verification laws for app stores.

Last month, Apple stated that “the right place to address the dangers of age-restricted content online is the limited set of websites and apps that host that kind of content.”

On March 12, Google’s director of public policy, Kareem Ghanem, stated, “These proposals introduce new risks to the privacy of minors, without actually addressing the harms that are inspiring lawmakers to act. Google is proposing a more comprehensive legislative framework that shares responsibility between app stores and developers and protects children’s privacy and the decision rights of parents.”

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