Tim Cook Goes to Washington to Fight App Store Age Verification Legislation

Apple CEO Tim Cook was successful Washington, D.C. contiguous to conscionable with the House Energy and Commerce Committee astir the upcoming App Store Accountability Act, reports Bloomberg. The App Store Accountability Act would necessitate Apple to verify a person's property erstwhile an Apple Account is created utilizing a "commercially disposable method oregon process," and get parental consent for each app that a kid nether 16 downloads.


Cook conveyed to lawmakers that device-level property assurance proposals should not necessitate the postulation of delicate information similar commencement certificate oregon societal information number, and that parents should beryllium trusted to supply the property of a kid erstwhile creating a child's account. Any information utilized for determining property should not beryllium kept by app stores oregon developers, according to Apple.

Cook besides emphasized that property assurance efforts should absorption connected ensuring parents creating an relationship are adults, positive helium suggested that parents should determine whether a child's property scope is shared with developers.

Prior to Cook's gathering with the committee, Apple's planetary caput of privacy, Hilary Ware sent a missive expressing Apple's concerns implicit the legislation. The missive said that the enactment "could endanger the privateness of each users by forcing millions of adults to surrender their backstage accusation for the elemental enactment of downloading an app." Ware told lawmakers that There are amended proposals that assistance support kids harmless without requiring millions of radical to crook implicit their idiosyncratic information," touting Apple's property assurance diagnostic that "allows a genitor to stock their child’s property scope with an app developer, without having to stock sensitive, circumstantial accusation similar a birthdate oregon authorities ID."

Apple has been warring the ‌App Store‌ Accountability Act due to the fact that of its privateness concerns, and due to the fact that it does not privation to beryllium legally liable for verifying idiosyncratic age, obtaining parental consent, oregon ensuring that developers travel the rules, nor does it privation to cod the required documentation.

To caput disconnected legislation, Apple has introduced new property assurance features, specified arsenic simpler tools for parents to oversee children's Apple accounts, caller property categories for app content, and the Declared Age Range API that provides developers with a privacy-forward mode to guarantee kids aren't exposed to in-app contented meant for adults.

Apple has argued that it already has extended parental controls with Screen Time, and that the authorities would necessitate it to cod excessive amounts of accusation from each users conscionable to verify the property of children. Apple says that it could beryllium required to cod information similar a driver's license, passport, oregon Social Security number, which is "not successful the involvement of idiosyncratic information oregon privacy."

The House Energy and Commerce Committee volition see the measure connected Thursday morning.

Texas recently passed a akin bill, SB2420. Starting connected January 1, 2026, Apple users located successful Texas volition request to corroborate whether they are 18 years oregon older erstwhile creating an Apple Account. Apple volition request to verify property and parental identity, and the ‌App Store‌ volition request to supply further accusation to parents.

Update: This nonfiction was updated with further accusation from Apple connected Cook's remarks.
This article, "Tim Cook Goes to Washington to Fight App Store Age Verification Legislation" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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