Bill · S. 1586· Senate(119-S-1586)
App Store Accountability Act
- Introduced
- 5/1/2025
- Last activity
- 5/1/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Sponsored by
- Mike Lee
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The App Store Accountability Act aims to protect children by requiring large app store providers to verify user ages and obtain verifiable parental consent for minors to download apps or make purchases. Covered app store providers must notify parents of significant app changes and share age category data with developers. App developers must verify user ages through the app store and provide parents with clear disclosures about data collection and app content. The Federal Trade Commission and State attorneys general are tasked with enforcing these rules.
Yes· 3 of 6
Does this put more rules on large technology companies?+8
Imposes strict age verification and parental consent mandates on large app store providers.
Would children be better off under this?+7
Protects children from inappropriate content and unauthorized purchases.
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?+6
Enhances protections for minors and provides parents with better transparency on data collection.
The opposite· 3 of 5
Does this leave more decisions to the states?-7
Explicitly preempts state and local governments from enforcing their own related laws.
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?-3
Requires mandatory age verification for every individual creating an account, increasing data collection.
Would business owners be better off under this?-3
Increases operational costs for app developers due to compliance and verification requirements.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Parental Control: Parents must give verifiable consent before a minor can download an app or make an in-app purchase (Section 3(a)(2)).
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Better Information for Parents: Parents are provided with a "parental consent disclosure" that describes the personal data collected and shared by an app, as well as the app's age rating and content description (Section 2(15)).
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Transparency on App Changes: Parents of minors must be notified and provide new consent if an app developer makes a "significant change" to an app's terms, privacy policy, or features (Section 3(a)(3)).
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Data Privacy Protections: Covered app store providers must limit the collection and storage of age verification data to only what is strictly necessary and use industry-standard encryption to secure it (Section 3(a)(6)).
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Clearer Content Labeling: Age ratings and content descriptions for apps must be displayed in plain and concise language (Section 3(a)(7) and Section 4(e)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Increased Data Collection: To comply with the law, covered app store providers are required to request and verify age information from every individual who creates an account (Section 3(a)(1)).
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Loss of State-Level Protections: The bill prevents any State or political subdivision from maintaining or enforcing their own laws or regulations related to the provisions of this Act (Section 9(a)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Education And Technology
- Increases Big Tech Regulation+8Improves Data Privacy+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Increases Federal Power+5Increase States Rights-7Improves Privacy Rights-3
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Consumer Protection+6Improves Small Business Support-2
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Children+7Good For Business Owners-3Good For Young Adults-2
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Improves Cybersecurity Defense+2
- 5/1/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.