Apple and Google Lobby for Laws Limiting Legal Accountability

Apple and Google are actively lobbying state lawmakers to pass child online safety laws that would limit their legal exposure. While both companies publicly support protecting children on the internet, the proposed legislation they advocate for includes provisions designed to reduce their legal risks. The key issue revolves around who can enforce these laws and hold tech companies accountable for failures in age verification.

The App Store Accountability Act, already enacted in states like Utah, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama, allows families to sue companies directly if they fail to properly verify user ages for app downloads. However, the alternative bills pushed by Apple and Google would restrict enforcement to state attorneys general, effectively shielding the companies from private lawsuits. Lobbyists successfully removed private enforcement options in similar age verification bills debated in Arizona, Georgia, and Kansas.

The tech industry also advocates for age verification methods that rely on users self-declaring their birthdate, making it easy for teenagers to bypass checks. In contrast, competing legislation requires more rigorous commercial verification tools. Meta supports the stricter laws because they shift the burden of age verification from social media platforms to app stores.

As more local governments consider legislation to protect young users online, the battle over legal accountability will intensify. The outcome of these state-level lobbying efforts will shape how the industry manages age verification and legal risks in the future.