"Unlike showing ID only for age-restricted items in a physical store (like alcohol), the bill would require age checks for everyone right when entering the app store, before any specific app or content is selected. Heightened risks from handling sensitive personal data online: Users would submit identifiers such as driver's licenses or facial scans to multiple parties that might store this information, unlike a quick, temporary check in the real world where the ID is simply viewed and returned."
"In the current political climate, centralized age verification at the app store level could enable authorities to more easily restrict or monitor access to certain types of online information and expression for various groups. Significant circumvention vulnerabilities that could undermine the law's purpose: While it might complicate access via apps, people (including minors) could easily bypass restrictions by using web browsers on phones."
The GOP-sponsored App Store Accountability Act is progressing through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, with similar bills already enacted in Utah, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. The bill aims to protect children by requiring parental consent and providing clear information about downloaded apps. However, activists and parents oppose the measure despite supporting its stated objectives. Key concerns include broad privacy intrusions requiring age verification for all users upon entering app stores, heightened risks from storing sensitive personal data like driver's licenses and facial scans, potential government overreach enabling content restriction and monitoring, and significant circumvention vulnerabilities allowing users to bypass restrictions through web browsers.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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