Meta called for a law requiring app stores to get parental consent before teens download any apps. This will effectively put more responsibility on parents, as well as Google and Apple, to protect young users from potentially harmful apps.
“Parents must approve teen app downloads, and we support federal legislation requiring app stores to obtain parental consent when teens under 16 download apps,” said Antigone Davis, Meta’s global safety lead. The company is proposing a plan where app stores would notify parents when their teen wants to download an app, just as they would be alerted when a child wants to make an in-app purchase. “The parent will then approve or deny the request.”
Meta says its approach will allow parents to verify a teen’s age when they set up a phone, rather than requiring everyone to verify their age multiple times across various apps. The company argues that the legislation is needed to ensure that all apps used by young people are held to the same standard.
He notes that states have passed “a patchwork of different laws,” some requiring teens to get parental consent for different apps and others requiring age verification. The company has started to take many steps regarding privacy and security recently, and this will continue.
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