“Any proposed federal legislation that imposes this one-size-fits-all approach to mandate app store-level age verification would create confusing and even contradictory requirements on parents, developers, and the stores themselves. ” said the App Association’s President, Morgan Reed, “App store-level age verification shifts responsibility away from social media platforms and other websites and does not reflect the lived reality of American families with children who often share and use multiple mobile devices, tablets, and computers that would then not be protected by this proposal. If the purpose of bills like this is to have app stores notify parents when their children want to download apps and enable parents to control the devices their kids are using, those features already exist and are much better than what would be available if the government set the parameters for them rather than software and device makers.”
Our members, which include small app developers, need legal frameworks that enable them to provide parents with readily available and functional means of managing their kids’ devices and access to age-appropriate apps. A federal law that would require parents to verify their child’s age at the app store would do the opposite. This potential proposal is not only not realistic for how families share and use devices, but it also places a heavy burden on parents.
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About ACT | The App Association & Members
The App Association is a global trade association for small and medium-sized technology companies. Our members are entrepreneurs, innovators, and independent developers within the global app ecosystem that engage with verticals across every industry. We work with and for our members to promote a policy environment that rewards and inspires innovation while providing resources that help them raise capital, create jobs, and continue to build incredible technology.
For more information, please visit www.actonline.org or reach out to ACT | The App Association via smartphone or app.