Apple CEO Tim Cook recently took a trip to Capitol Hill for a crucial closed-door meeting with US lawmakers. As reported by Bloomberg, the discussion centered on pending children’s online safety legislation. Specifically, Cook is pushing back against provisions that would mandate app store operators to strictly authenticate users’ ages. This visit comes right before the House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to consider the bill.
The legislation in question is the App Store Accountability Act. Its primary goal is to ensure minors are protected from potentially harmful applications. To achieve this, the bill proposes a requirement for app stores to verify the ages of their users. This would shift a significant amount of responsibility onto platforms like Apple to determine exactly who is downloading apps and how old they are.
During the meeting, Cook urged lawmakers to reconsider the requirement for documentation-based age checks. According to a statement from the company, Apple believes the responsibility should remain with parents. Cook argued that the system should rely on parents providing their child’s age when creating a specific child account, rather than forcing the App Store to collect sensitive identification documents from users.
Hilary Ware, Apple’s global head of privacy, sent a letter to the committee last week outlining these dangers. The company fears that requiring strict age verification could threaten the privacy of all App Store users, not just minors. Collecting government IDs or similar documentation creates a new vector for data risk that Apple is keen to avoid.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to consider the bill on Thursday morning. Interestingly, there is another bill on the docket that allegedly aligns more closely with Apple’s vision for online safety.
Should app stores be responsible for verifying IDs, or should that responsibility stay with parents? Let us know in the comments below! Stay updated with the latest news on this by downloading the Appleosophy App from the App Store or by visiting our website.
