SALT LAKE CITY—Utah lawmakers have endorsed an age verification bill requiring users to provide age proof at the app store level. The App Store Accountability Act, Senate Bill (SB) 142, requires age checks to prevent minors from downloading apps that could potentially expose them to age-restricted materials, including adult content.
SB 142 was initially proposed by far-right lawmakers Sen. Todd Weiler and state Rep. James Dunnigan.
According to legislative information, the most recent action was taken by the House Speaker in endorsing the passage of the bill from both chambers of the legislature.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a conservative Republican, is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days. SB 142 would enter force starting May 7, 2025.
“This bill enacts provisions governing app store operations and creates requirements for age verification and parental consent,” reads the language of the bill.
It defines new regulatory terms like “verifiable parental consent.” This consent “is provided by an individual who the app store provider has verified is an adult; … is given after the app store provider has clearly and conspicuously provided the parental consent disclosure to the individual; and requires the parent to make an affirmative choice.”
“Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way,” said representatives of Meta, Snap and X, parent companies of some of the most popular social media platforms. This was a joint statement after the final vote in Utah, per coverage by The Verge.
Kerry Maeve Sheehan, legal advocacy counsel for the left-leaning Chamber of Progress, wrote in a blog post for the trade group that SB 142 is potentially harmful.
“While protecting children online is a worthwhile goal, Utah’s legislature has chosen the wrong path,” Sheehan wrote. “And unfortunately, it failed to learn from federal courts’ previous rulings. … Utah’s leaders should reconsider this bill before they compromise their constituents’ constitutional rights.”
