Google Urges Utah Governor to Reject App Store Age Verification Bill

The tech giant warns the legislation could compromise user privacy and shift responsibility away from social media platforms.

Utah's proposed App Store Accountability Act would require app stores to verify users' ages and share this data with developers, raising privacy concerns.
Google argues the bill could expose minors' data to misuse by millions of app developers without clear safeguards or parental consent.
The company suggests an alternative framework focusing on privacy-preserving age verification for apps deemed risky for minors, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Google's proposal also includes banning personalized ads for users under 18 and creating centralized parental controls for managing children's app usage.
Meta and other social media companies support the Utah bill, but Google claims it allows them to offload their responsibility for protecting minors to app stores.