Marko Zivkovic
Utah's new App Store Accountability Act will force companies like Apple and Google to verify the ages of new App Store users in the state.
The law, signed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Wednesday, was created to protect children and prevent them from accessing age-inappropriate content. Under the App Store Accountability Act, Apple will be required to implement age-verification measures, and the company is already well prepared.
In February 2025, Apple published a whitepaper detailing the age assurance features it would be implementing. Through a new developer API, Apple will make it easier for parents to set up App Store accounts for their children.
Apple has typically requested credit card information to verify that an adult is setting up a new account for their child. This verification measure is in line with Utah's new law, which was detailed on Wednesday by CNBC.
The company took things one step further, though, as Apple will now look at the credit card that is already in use on the adult's Apple Account. It checks the payment history and confirms that the adult has previously used Face ID or Touch ID, and only then allows that parent to continue.
The iPhone maker also limits age-inappropriate websites for minor accounts in Utah, to ensure compliance with a similar law passed by the state in 2021.
In a joint statement, Meta, Snap, and X applauded Utah's latest law. "This approach spares users from repeatedly submitting personal information to countless individual apps and online services," the three companies said.
"Parents want a one-stop-shop to oversee and approve the many apps their teens want to download, and Utah has led the way in centralizing it within a device's app store," which is precisely what Utah's App Store Accountability Act enables. The law is set to take effect on May 7, 2025.
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William Gallagher
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Thomas Sibilly
Wesley Hilliard
2 Comments
It's Utah. Do you need to have age verification if you want multiple brides?
This is confusing as hell. Here in Germany Apple already requires the birthdate to register accounts and it requires the credit card (in order to cash in on wrong settings not for security reasons!). Kids under 16 cannot use Apple wallet, not even for tickets or public transport but they can install pretty much any app, regardless of their registered age, even when locked down in screentime. WTF? Also kids here typically have credit card compatible debit cards (and a lot of adults only have those, too, instead of real credit cards) which are happily accepted by any vendor, including Apple. Is that not the case the USA?!? I really hope Apple gets their shit together before my kids are fully grown up, the current state of parental control is just one notch above completely useless...