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Alabama lawmakers are considering a bill that supporters say would protect children from harmful online content by requiring app stores to verify the age of customers, notify parents when minors download an app, and block enforcement of contracts with minors without parental consent.
Alabama is one of 12 states considering similar legislation, according to Nicole Lopez, safety policy director for Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.
Lopez spoke in favor of the bill at a public hearing at the Alabama State House today.
The House Children and Senior Advocacy Committee heard from speakers on both sides of the issue but did not take a vote.
Opponents of the bill said parental involvement was the best safeguard for children and said the bill, which they said no state has passed, would face constitutional challenges.
The sponsor, Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, said his bill, HB317, is not a perfect solution but would add a layer of protection.
“We obey speed limits. We put seat belts on them. We put them in child seats. We do different things to protect our children to come up with one goal to protect our children, and that’s what we’re doing here today,” Sells said.
The bill says it would require app store providers to verify the age of users. It would require accounts of minors to be affiliated with their parents’ accounts, so minors would have to obtain parental consent to download an app.
According to the text of the bill, it “would prevent app store providers and developers from enforcing contracts against minors, misrepresenting information in disclosures and sharing personal age verification data.”
The state attorney general would adopt rules to enforce the law, and could sue violators for deceptive trade practice.
“If you took your apps off your phone, it would be nothing but a phone,” Sells said. “So when you go to the app store, that’s where everything comes from. So we think that’s the place to regulate it. Because that’s how it gets from the internet to your child.”
Justin Hill, who represents the trade association NetChoice, which advocates for limited government regulation of the internet, said an age verification mandate is not the best way to protect children.
“There’s been a breakdown around the country involving tech and children,” said Hill, a former state lawmaker from Missouri. “And that breakdown primarily has been parents.”
Hill said it’s up to parents to have hard discussions with their children about online content. He said the bill could give parents a false sense of security that their children are protected.
“If parents aren’t involved in this issue with their children, it’s not going to get better,” Hill said.
Opponents of the bill said it could violate the First Amendment by placing legal restrictions on certain forms of speech.
John Read, who represents the Digital Childhood Alliance, which says it advocates for policies that help parents protect children, spoke in support of the bill and said its main focus is that app stores could not enforce contracts with minors without consent of parents.
Read said it is written to avoid any constitutional issues.
The Wall Street Journal reported than online child-safety bills have stalled in Congress. But Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plans to try again with a bill to require verification by app.
Sells said he was open to considering amendments to his bill as it moves through the process.
Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, the chair of the Children and Senior Advocacy Committee, said lawmakers would continue to study the bill.
Another public hearing is scheduled for Thursday on a Senate version of the bill by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville.
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