The App Store Accountability Act positions itself as a child-safety measure, but it’s actually a privacy nightmare waiting to happen.
It gives app stores and developers the responsibility of verifying a user’s age while ignoring how people actually use their devices.
The Illusion of “Safer” Age Verification
You could argue that verifying a user’s age before they download an app is safer, but the reality is complicated. Nobody knows who is making these apps or what they’ll do with sensitive information.
Where is this data being stored? Who is maintaining it? Do they have security systems strong enough to keep hackers out? Nobody can answer that, and that should concern everyone.
Does Everyone Have To Prove Their Age Now?
Another problem is scope. Would this law apply only to minors? Or would every single person be forced to comply with the verification process? Would families with adult children, or adults who don’t have any kids be forced to verify their age every time they want to download an app?
Why should everyone bend over backwards just because parents don’t keep track of what their children do online?
Sideloading Exists
Also the one thing this law doesn’t account for is sideloading.
Sideloading is the process of installing apps from outside of official app stores like the Google Play store or Apple’s App Store.
It’s harder to do on an iPhone, but it is easy on Android. Despite growing concerns that Google might restrict third-party downloads,the company has stated that sideloading isn’t going anywhere.
That alone undercuts the point of the law. If someone wants to download an app without dealing with an age check, nothing stops them from finding another way to install it.
These Rules Won’t Protect Kids.
If lawmakers are serious about protecting children, this law isn’t the way. Forcing age verification from app stores doesn’t stop young users from finding workarounds. It just encourages them to hunt down alternative stores filled with scams, malware, and shady pop-ups that nobody wants on their phone.
Instead of making kids safer, the law opens the door to more vulnerabilities. And it doesn’t just affect minors. It drags people of every age into a system designed with the wrong assumptions.
The Responsibility Should Fall On Parents
The App Store Accountability Act also misplaces responsibility. Developers and app stores shouldn’t be forced to decide what apps a child is allowed to install. That decision should fall onto the adult paying the internet bill each month.
There are already built-in parental controls, device-level restrictions, and account management tools created specifically for this purpose.The real issue isn’t a lack of regulation. It’s parents who don’t know how to use the tools that already exist.
