Power to the parents and small app developers with Alabama bill: op-ed
March 5, 2025
Last week, the Alabama House and Senate held hearings on the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to age verify their users and acquire parental permission any time a child tries to download or purchase an app. The Senate has already resoundingly passed the bill out of committee.
This is a pro-parent bill. Nearly 90% of kids own a smartphone, where millions of apps are available through the app store. The app store is a child’s doorway into the galaxy of the internet, with all the dangers that it entails. Surely a bill that gives parents the power to say yes or no on behalf of their child to specific apps should be seen as pro-parent, pro-child, and pro-family.
