Apple CEO ask Texas Governor Greg Abbot to stop or change app-store accountability bill
Apple CEO Tim Cook has personally stepped in to stop a Texas child safety bill targeting the App Store from becoming law, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Texas would be the largest state to adopt what is called an app-store accountability law. It would require tech companies such as Apple to verify ages of users of devices such as the iPhone. Similar laws have been proposed across at least nine states and adopted in one, Utah. Federal legislation also has been introduced.
According to the WSJ, Cook called Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week to ask for changes to the legislation or, failing that, for a veto. The article, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the call,” says that “these people said that the conversation was cordial and that it made clear the extent of Apple’s interest in stopping the bill.”
As noted by the WSJ, proponents argue that such laws will give parents more control over their children’s use of smartphones, and that children aren’t legally allowed to agree to apps’ terms of service in the first place. Critics say such a law could impose costs on a swath of apps whose content isn’t controversial. They also say the bills are allowing Meta and other apps to shunt responsibility for online safety onto others.
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