Utah sets a precedent with landmark app store age verification bill

Utah has made history as the first U.S. state to mandate age verification for mobile app stores, setting a new benchmark in the ongoing battle over online child safety, as reported by The Verge. The newly passed App Store Accountability Act requires digital storefronts to confirm users’ ages and obtain parental consent before allowing minors to download apps.

This move is part of a broader national effort to establish stronger online safety regulations for children. However, past attempts at similar legislation have frequently stalled in courts due to free speech concerns. At the federal level, last year’s prominent online safety bill failed to gain traction amid worries that it could suppress digital expression.

Rather than placing the burden on individual app developers, Utah’s law shifts responsibility to mobile app store operators—an approach that aligns with recent lobbying efforts by major tech firms. Meta and other social media platforms have advocated for such regulations, seeing them as a means to standardize child safety measures across digital ecosystems. Apple, which had previously opposed a similar measure in Louisiana, has recently allowed parents to share their children’s age ranges with apps, a step that Meta’s Jamie Radice acknowledged as progress but noted still relies on “a teen’s approval.”

In a joint statement following the law’s passage, Meta, Snap, and X voiced their support, urging federal lawmakers to adopt similar measures. “Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way,” they stated. “The app store is the best place for it, and more than a quarter of states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play.”

Despite its backing from tech companies, the law has drawn criticism from privacy advocates. The Chamber of Progress, an industry coalition that includes Meta’s European division, Apple, and Google among its members, argues that the measure could infringe on users’ rights. Legal experts have pointed to past Supreme Court rulings that deemed strict age verification measures unconstitutional, citing concerns over free speech.

“Strict age verification—confirming a user’s age without requiring additional personally identifiable information—is not technically feasible in a manner that respects users’ rights, privacy, and security,” Kerry Maeve Sheehan, legal advocacy counsel at Chamber of Progress, wrote in a blog post.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to deliberate on a case involving age verification, though its focus is on access to adult content rather than general online activity. Apple has yet to issue a formal response beyond its recent white paper, which stresses the importance of limiting sensitive data collection. Google, which operates the Play Store, has not commented on Utah’s legislation.

With more than a quarter of U.S. states considering similar bills, Utah’s legislation could signal a broader shift in how online safety measures for minors are implemented. Whether this approach can withstand legal scrutiny remains to be seen, but its passage underscores the growing pressure on tech companies and lawmakers to find a balance between digital security and user privacy.

As The Verge noted, this debate is far from over. “The Supreme Court has long recognized that age verification requirements, like those in SB 142, chill access to protected speech for everyone and are therefore inconsistent with the First Amendment,” the outlet reported. With federal lawmakers divided and tech companies pushing for industry-wide solutions, Utah’s pioneering law may serve as a pivotal test case for the future of digital child protection in the U.S.