Google and Apple are reportedly lobbying for state kids’ online safety laws that could shift age-verification liability to app stores and limit the tech giants’ exposure to lawsuits.
As pressure from kids’ online safety lawsuits mounts on tech giants, lobbyists from Google and Apple are reportedly engaged in a major effort to press state lawmakers to adopt kids’ online safety laws that would shield the tech giants from lawsuits, according to Politico.
The scale and scope of the push have not been revealed. The lobbying battle is unfolding as Big Tech faces hundreds of lawsuits from individuals who say they or their children were harmed by the platforms’ design. Meanwhile, states are passing age-verification laws, opening the door to additional lawsuits against tech companies.
Google and Apple are competing closely with Meta, which has been putting up lobbying efforts urging lawmakers to support legislation that would require app stores, rather than platforms, to verify users’ ages to ensure minors do not see age-inappropriate content online. The larger fight centres on the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before minors can download apps or make purchases, while also assuming substantial legal liability.
Versions of the ASAA were introduced in state legislatures in Georgia, Arizona and Kansas earlier this year. Lobbyists representing Google and Apple pitched alternative bill text to lawmakers that would bar lawsuits and leave enforcement to state attorneys general.
Increasing Legal Scrutiny
Tech companies are under increasing legal scrutiny, with thousands of lawsuits lodged against them by individuals. Most of these claims allege that the platforms were designed to intentionally addict young users, negatively impacting their mental health. Social media companies such as Meta have been supportive of the legislation, advocates say, partly because it shifts liability for age verification to app stores rather than the platforms themselves.
Versions of the ASAA have passed in Utah, Louisiana and Alabama, but these have faced lawsuits from tech industry groups alleging that the laws restrict minors’ First Amendment rights by placing apps that enable free expression behind a wall of parental approval.
If App store providers such as Apple or Google violate the provisions laid out by the ASAA, they could be held liable and face civil penalties, while Meta has supported the legislation Google and Apple have pitched in other alternatives to age verification. The bills pitched by Google and Apple largely rely on users self-attesting their age, something child safety advocates say can be circumvented if minors misrepresent their birth dates.
The ASAA requires app stores to use commercially available methods to verify users’ ages, such as examining the types of applications they have downloaded in the past, as per Politico. This has led to pushback from some privacy-minded lawmakers and organisations, who say doing so could compromise minors’ information online.
Back in August, Meta agreed to pay a $1.8 billion settlement with the states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. A California judge approved the settlement, under which Meta must pay 48 states, the District of Columbia and three US territories, marking the company’s largest payment over child safety litigation to date.
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