San Francisco, 11 December (HS): Apple CEO Tim Cook met members of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday to oppose federal legislation that could require the company to verify users’ ages and potentially collect sensitive data from children. Instead, Apple is urging lawmakers to allow parents to decide whether to disclose a child’s age to app stores.

The proposed App Store Accountability Act aims to prevent minors from accessing harmful online content. Several US states have already taken similar steps: Texas now requires parental consent for app downloads and in-app purchases for users under 18, while Utah passed a comparable law earlier this year. Australia also introduced a nationwide ban this week preventing children under 16 from joining social media platforms.

While age limits for online content enjoy strong public backing in the US, the legislative push has triggered a dispute among major tech companies. Apple and Google warn that verifying minors’ ages could force them to collect birth certificates and other sensitive documents at scale. Meta Platforms, on the other hand, argues that app stores are the only effective point to enforce age restrictions.

Apple maintains that the federal proposal could compel the company to gather identifying information from nearly all users, including children. Tim Cook raised these concerns in a meeting with members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Apple confirmed.

Apple’s global head of privacy, Hilary Ware, said in a letter to the committee last week that not all proposals adequately protect privacy. She warned that marketplace-level age verification would require collecting sensitive information even for users downloading simple apps such as weather or sports updates.

A 2023 Pew Research poll showed overwhelming support for age-related safeguards: 81% of Americans favour requiring parental consent for children to create social media accounts, while 71% support age verification before using social media platforms.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar