Texas Signs Internet Regulations Targeting Apple & Google

An online child safety bill approved by Texas Governor Greg Abbott mandates that Google and Apple make sure their app stores confirm users’ ages in the country’s second most populated state.

The new regulation will need parental consent before allowing kids to download applications or make in-app purchases. Apple and Google opposed the bill.

An Apple representative stated in a statement on Tuesday, “We think there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information.”

A BBC request for comment was not immediately answered by Google.

Texas follows the conservative state of Utah, which earlier this year passed a similar measure.

The Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, was spearheaded by US lawmakers at the federal level and would mandate that social media businesses make design decisions that prevent and reduce damages to young users.

The US Senate enacted KOSA last year, but the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, stalled.

Earlier this month, the bipartisan bill that Apple supports was reintroduced to Congress.

The states have decided to enact their own laws in the absence of a federal statute.

Laws requiring age verification have long pitted social networking businesses against app store providers like Apple and Google.

Meta, the company behind the photo-sharing software Instagram and the social media network Facebook, has advocated for Apple and Google to be in charge of confirming users’ ages.

The Wall Street Journal claims that earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook called Governor Abbott to try to halt the state’s bill from passing.

According to an Apple representative, the tech giant supports “the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety” but is “deeply concerned” about the harm the law, in its opinion, poses to everyone’s privacy.

A spokesperson for the business stated “It requires app marketplaces 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 introduced a number of new child safety precautions in February, one of which is requiring consumers to choose an age range when purchasing a new iPhone.

A parent or guardian must give permission for a kid under the age of 13 to use the App Store and other features that need the child’s Face ID.

The law will go into force on January 1st.

Texas has previously pushed for legislation in Silicon Valley.

Following accusations by Republican legislators that Facebook and the corporation, then called Twitter, now X, were restricting their beliefs, the state in 2021 declared it unlawful for social media companies to prohibit users on the basis of their “political viewpoints”.