State-Imposed App Stores for Age Verification–Tech Giants Disagree

State parliament in the United States is forced to pass new regulations in 2025 that demand the app stores to check users’ age and get parental consent before the installation. However, states like Utah and South Carlina have launched these bills, initiating a debate between social forums hubs–Meta and app-store handlers Apple and Google over who will be managing age verification. 

Apple and Google claim that app developers must be responsible for checking the user ages, instead of app stores. However, Apple Eleven assisted in restricting the same bill in Louisiana’s age verification law in 2024. Whereas, Meta, alongside Snap and X, forced that app stores are best equipped to execute verification, providing their reach to user data.  

Free speech supporters, such as the Center for Democracy and Technology, blame such regulations—-considering insufficient privacy-breacher. Moreover, the lawmakers think attacking a few giant app stores is more reliable than managing unlimited developers. Apple and Google highlight their current parental controls, alerting while demanding them to check ages can lead to unimportant data sharing. Despite this, child safety campaigners are supporting the bills, claiming they are essential to safeguard children on the internet. The argument rages on as both camps call for a solution that will strike a balance between safety, privacy, and convenience.