United States of America: App Store Accountability Bill (SB 142) was introduced to the Senate

On 21 January 2025, the App Store Accountability Act was introduced in the Utah Senate. The Bill delineates definitions and requirements for app store operators and developers regarding age verification and parental consent for minors. The Bill proposes a categorisation of users into four age groups: child (under 13 years old), younger teenager (13-15), older teenager (16-17), and adult (18+). App store providers would be obliged to verify the age categories of users and obtain verifiable parental consent for those under 18 before allowing app downloads or purchases and notifying parents of significant app changes. Developers would be obligated to enforce age-based restrictions and safety features using this data. Violations of these provisions would be considered deceptive trade practices, enabling affected minors or their parents to initiate civil lawsuits for damages, with a minimum compensation of USD 1,000 per violation. The Bill includes safe harbour protections for developers acting in good faith on age verification data from app stores and ensures that the requirements do not impede emergency services or necessary data collection. The state's Division of Consumer Protection would be responsible for overseeing the enforcement of these provisions and establishing rules for age verification methods to ensure compliance.