Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens minors' online privacy and parental control with mandatory age verification, consent, and enforcement tools, but does so by imposing significant compliance costs, introducing privacy and access frictions, concentrating power with major app stores, and limiting states' ability to adopt stronger rules.
Children and teens gain stronger legal protections because apps must verify age and obtain verifiable parental consent before creating minor accounts or allowing downloads, reducing minors' exposure to inappropriate content and unconsented data collection.
Parents get clearer control and information because the law defines parental accounts/consent, requires prominent plain-language age ratings and notifications about significant changes to minor accounts, making it easier to decide what apps are appropriate for their children.
Age-verification data is limited and must be reasonably secured (including industry-standard safeguards and limits on retention), and sharing of age data with unaffiliated third parties is restricted, reducing profiling and lowering some privacy and security risks for minors.
Small app developers and app store providers will face substantial new compliance costs and operational burdens (verification systems, notifications, periodic rechecks, annual certifications), likely raising prices, reducing margins, or limiting market access for smaller entrants.
Collecting and transmitting age-category signals and verification data increases privacy and security risks if that data is misused or breached, potentially exposing minors to profiling or unauthorized disclosure despite retention limits and safeguards.
Mandatory age verification and parental-consent steps create user friction that can delay or block legitimate app use and disproportionately burden households without reliable digital access, deterring use or excluding some children and families.
Based on analysis of 20 sections of legislative text.
Requires app stores and developers to verify user ages, get verifiable parental consent for minors, share an age‑category signal, protect age data, and creates FTC/state enforcement with federal preemption.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by John James · Last progress May 1, 2025
Requires app stores and app developers to verify user ages, get verifiable parental consent for minors, and share a simple age‑category signal so apps can apply age‑appropriate defaults. Sets data protection limits for age verification data, creates a safe harbor for developers who rely in good faith on store signals, directs the FTC to issue guidance and enforce the law, allows state attorneys general to sue on behalf of residents, and preempts state laws that conflict. The law generally takes effect one year after enactment.