If your household is anything like our families, you spend far too much time managing technology. You’ve tried the third-party parental control apps. None are perfect. The elusive “off” button doesn’t exist. New apps appear on your child’s phone like whack-a-moles at the arcade.
Let’s not kid ourselves – this isn’t accidental. It’s by design.
Parents can’t win this fight alone, and the stakes are simply too high. We are talking about our children’s safety, development, mental health, and moral formation.
As the House Energy and Commerce Committee evaluates a slate of youth online safety proposals, lawmakers must ensure any serious reform addresses the problem at its source: the point of download, i.e., the App Store.
That’s why the App Store Accountability Act, as modeled in Ohio’s House Bill 226, should serve as a model for future legislation the U.S. House of Representatives undertakes. It’s commonsense legislation that empowers parents while respecting the First Amendment and utilizing standing law on age verification.
The Supreme Court has made clear that while certain unprotected material may be restricted, laws must be carefully crafted to avoid burdening constitutionally protected speech. This approach does not ban speech, censor viewpoints, or regulate ideas. Instead, it restores decision-making authority to where it belongs – with parents.
Rather than picking and choosing which content is acceptable, this bill provides an easy solution to a difficult problem by requiring parents to consent before their child can download an app.
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Other legislation fails because the focus is on regulating speech based on what topics apps covered or which audiences they “targeted.” This bill treats all app store providers and platforms equally. It draws no line between social media, a weather app, or a Bible app. There are no carve-outs. That neutrality is not only a wise policy – it is a constitutional necessity.
For example, alternatives to the App Store Accountability Act, like the Parents Over Platforms Act (POPA) that is being pushed by Big Tech, skirt commonsense protections in favor of carve-outs and loopholes for tech companies. Instead of giving parents control over what apps their kids can use, the POPA relies on children – who can’t legally enter into enforceable contracts – to self-report their age. Modest estimates suggest that about 30 percent of kids would lie about their age to get access to an app. It’s no wonder 88 percent of parents prefer the direct consent method of the App Store Accountability Act for parental control over what ends up on their kids’ devices.
The Supreme Court has already made clear that age verification requirements can be constitutional. Distinguishing between children and adults when signing up for apps is a legitimate exercise of government authority to protect minors while preserving adults’ First Amendment rights. As the Court stated plainly, “Adults have no First Amendment right to avoid age verification . . . .”
And let’s not forget that children cannot sign enforceable contracts without parental consent in nearly every other area of life – whether they’re getting a driver’s license, joining a sports league, or opening a bank account. App store agreements and in-app purchases are commercial contracts. This legislation ensures that when children engage in this kind of commercial conduct online, they do so with parental approval. That’s not a First Amendment issue – it’s basic consumer protection.
The App Store Accountability Act simply requires providers to confirm age and obtain parental consent with minimal intrusion – nothing beyond what is already standard in countless commercial digital transactions that distinguish between minors and adults. In fact, app stores already collect much of this information.
The internet offers enormous benefits – education, connection, opportunity. But when platforms allow minors to create accounts and access potentially harmful content without meaningful safeguards, the federal government has both the authority and the responsibility to act, and act they must.
Parents should not have to fight against the tides of Silicon Valley for control of their children’s development. The App Store is the front door to the modern digital world, and that is where responsibility should start. If Congress truly intends to protect children while respecting constitutional boundaries, it must act decisively by restoring parental authority, imposing meaningful accountability, and ensuring the gateway to the internet is not wide open to minors without oversight.
The ACLJ is working to empower parents. Sign our petition to join the fight.
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