Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation requiring Apple and Google to verify the ages of all app store users. The bill, called the App Store Accountability Act, aims to prevent minors from downloading apps or making in-app purchases without verified parental concerns. This week, Governor @GregAbbott_TX signed the App Store Accountability Act into law. Texas protects children and empowers parents with the tools to keep them safe. https://t.co/oKBYWgSQO0 — Governor Abbott Press Office (@GovAbbottPress) May 29, 2025 Texas became the second state to pass an age-verification law. Per NewsNation: The law follows similar legislation passed earlier this year in Utah and reflects growing concern over children’s access to digital platforms. Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, along with Snap and X, praised the bill’s passage. “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. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play,” the companies said, according to Reuters. However, Apple and Google opposed the law, arguing that it requires them to share age data with all apps, even those that pose no risk. “If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” Apple said in a statement. Critics said the bill essentially mandates digital ID to access apps. “In Texas, Apple and Google will now be the bouncers at the front door of the internet, checking IDs for every app download,” Reclaim The Net wrote. In Texas, Apple and Google will now be the bouncers at the front door of the internet, checking IDs for every app download.https://t.co/81ONgZUwxX — Reclaim The Net (@ReclaimTheNetHQ) May 29, 2025 Opponents of the bill also cited the attack on privacy and online anonymity by requiring verification of an individual’s identity with their digital presence. CNN reports: App store operators Google and Apple argue that the age verification bills will undermine individual privacy. That’s because every user, not just children, will have to provide sensitive data — likely an ID or a scan of their face — to confirm their age, even if they only want to download something like a weather app, where age is irrelevant. And the custody rule will require parents to turn over even more personal documentation. Legal experts have also raised concerns that such laws could run afoul of the First Amendment by forcing adults to choose between handing over personal information or accessing “legally protected online speech.” Likewise, minors would be forced to get parental consent before accessing protected online speech. Apple and Google have suggested alternative proposals that would involve a shared responsibility for age verification between app stores and app developers, and sharing age data only with the platforms that need it. Apple says it is set to release an “age assurance” feature that lets parents share their child’s age range with app developers. “Importantly, this solution does not require app marketplaces to collect and keep sensitive data—such as passports or driver’s licenses—from all users to verify age,” a company spokesperson said in a statement last week. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Abbott signed the Texas law.