Texas Age Verification Law for App Stores Is Here Despite Tim Cook, Big Tech's Efforts Against It

The state of Texas has passed a bill that now requires app stores and marketplaces to have age verification before downloads and transactions can push through. This law was something that many Big Tech companies and executives, including Apple's CEO Tim Cook, were against, citing privacy risks that it may entail.

It was revealed that this newly passed law aims to protect children and teens from inappropriate or restricted content that may be easily found on these platforms, with Texas letting parents decide what is appropriate or not for their children.

Texas Passes Age Verification Law for App Stores

According to the latest report by Bloomberg, Texas has passed a bill that requires age verification for app stores, with this new law now requiring platforms to ask for additional personal information to verify age.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed the bill into law, and it would now ask parents to approve a specific download or in-app purchase before it pushes through.

This law was authored by Texas state Senator Angela Paxton, who claimed that this is a tool that will help parents decide for their children when accessing these kinds of technology online. According to Engadget, Senator Paxton is married to Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton.

Big Tech, Apple's CEO Were Against This

Back when the bill was introduced, many Big Tech companies opposed it, and in Texas' case, Apple CEO Tim Cook has lobbied against it and reportedly personally called to prevent its signing into law.

This new law from Texas is similar to the recent approval of the same legislation in Utah, centering on age verification requirements for app marketplaces that would ask for parental approval before proceeding.

It was revealed that Apple argued that this law would ask for more personal information for its age verification needs, citing that there are "better proposals" to protect kids and minors.

Age Verification Measures in Tech

Age verification has been a measure that the world of technology has been using for several years, and it has been imposed on social media platforms and other digital fronts to protect minors from the dangers of online experiences.

However, there have been several states that took it upon themselves to turn it into law, with a controversial one from Mississippi asking for age verification on websites and digital services.

The likes of Utah and Texas have also passed their respective laws that put age verification measures on porn sites in the past year to prevent minors from accessing these types of content online. Infamously, these states faced lawsuits regarding their measures on age verification from porn sites, with PornHub known for going against the states and their laws.

However, different states have been working on or have already passed a law that leverages age verification for app stores or marketplaces. Lawmakers want a safer and supervised use of the app marketplaces for those who are not yet of age, but it quickly became an infamous law for Big Tech, including Apple and Google.

Originally published on Tech Times