As H.R. 3149 Moves Out of Committee, Small Business App Developers Warn of Unprecedented Privacy Risks and Mandated Data Collection on Children

 

Washington, DC — Today, the House Energy & Commerce committee voted to advance Meta’s App Store Accountability Act (ASAA, H.R. 3149), a move that ACT | The App Association (ACT) warns will compromise the digital safety of American families and place unworkable burdens on small technology companies. ACT recently launched a six-figure advertising campaign, urging Congress to instead pivot to the Parents Over Platforms Act (POPA, H.R. 6333).

While the ASAA is framed as a safety measure, it effectively mandates that independent app developers—many of whom are small businesses with limited resources—collect and store sensitive age data from their users. The bill also requires app stores to use the most intrusive level of age assurance, age verification, for every single potential user of an app store. This creates a massive “honeypot” for hackers and foreign adversaries and exposes ACT members’ clients and customers to unnecessary risks.

In contrast, the Parents Over Platforms Act (POPA), sponsored by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (MA-4) and Erin Houchin (IN-9), offers a pragmatic, security-first approach by imposing the requirement to receive age information only on apps that provide differentiated experiences for children and adults. This ensures that sensitive data is handled by the entities best equipped to secure it, while providing parents with streamlined, consistent controls across all apps, all without placing a huge new unfunded mandate on American small businesses that pose no risk to our kids.

“Today’s committee vote is a disappointing step toward a more dangerous internet,” said Morgan Reed, President of ACT | The App Association. “By advancing the App Store Accountability Act, lawmakers are choosing a path that forces small businesses to spy on their users, creating massive security vulnerabilities. We shouldn’t be requiring a local pizza shop to handle the verified age information of every person who wants to order a pie for dinner. It is becoming clear that ASAA is being pushed by large social media interests to deflect their own liability. We urge Congress to listen to the small business community and support the Parents Over Platforms Act, which protects children without turning every small app into a gold mine for hackers.”

ACT’s campaign continues to run across digital and broadcast channels, highlighting the voices of independent developers who fear that the compliance costs and legal liabilities of ASAA will stifle innovation and competition in the app economy.

For more information on ACT’s support of the Parents Over Platforms Act and to view our latest campaign materials, please visit: https://actonline.org/u-s-h-r-3149-app-store-accountability-act/

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About ACT | The App Association & Members

ACT 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 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.