Utah’s App Store Accountability Act is the first of its kind in the nation and represents a significant shift in how user ages are verified online, according to CNBC.
The law makes it the responsibility of mobile app stores to verify ages. In other words, it’s up to companies like Apple and Google to do age checks rather than the firms behind individual apps like Instagram, Snapchat and X.
The law is designed to protect children, who may not understand apps’ terms of services and, therefore, can’t agree to them, Todd Weiler, a Republican state senator and the bill’s sponsor, told CNBC. The article says the App Store Accountability Act could also kick off a wave of other states, including South Carolina and California, passing similar legislation.
However, AppleInsider notes that Apple is already prepared for such laws. In February 2025, Apple published a whitepaper detailing the age assurance features it would be implementing. An application programming interface (API) for developers from Apple was designed to make it easier for parents to set up App Store accounts for their kids.
Apple has typically requested credit card information to verify that an adult is setting up a new account for their child. This verification measure is in line with Utah’s new law.
However, AppleInsider says the company took things one step further, though, as Apple will now look at the credit card that is already in use on the adult’s Apple Account. It checks the payment history and confirms that the adult has previously used Face ID or Touch ID, and only then allows that parent to continue.
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