Senate Bill Mandates App Stores Verify User Ages and Obtain Parental Consent for Minors

46% of U.S. teens say they are online "almost constantly" — up from 24% in 2014-2015

At least 5 states — Utah, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and others — have already enacted app store age verification laws, and courts have blocked multiple of them on First Amendment grounds

The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the App Store Accountability Act (H.R. 3149) by a 26–23 vote on March 5, 2026 — a largely party-line result

The FTC has collected over $300 million in COPPA penalties from a handful of companies — including a $275 million settlement with Epic Games in 2022 — yet the existing law only protects children under 13

Industry critics argue app store age verification is "popular in principle, unworkable in practice" — pointing to accuracy gaps in age-estimation technology and coverage gaps for web-based content