Meta Advocates for Age Verification on App Stores

By Netvora Tech News

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Meta, the American tech giant, has called for app stores to verify the age of their users. In a position paper submitted to the Dutch parliament ahead of a roundtable discussion on young people and social media, Meta argues that the responsibility for online age verification should rest with the provider of the operating system or app store used by the user. A new federal law is being drafted in the US, which, if passed, will require parental consent and age verification at the level of the operating system or app store across the entire country. Meta believes that Europe should follow suit and make it possible to verify age at the OS/app store level. The company argues that the guidelines set out by the Digital Services Act (DSA) are not enough. "Europe needs mandatory age verification measures that apply to all apps used by teenagers to consistently protect them," Meta states. "EU-wide legislation is needed that requires app stores or operating systems to verify the age of a child and obtain parental consent before a teenager under 16 can download an app - similar legislation recently introduced in the US." The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a US-based civil liberties organization, recently released a three-part report on online age verification. The report argues that there is no simple technological solution to complex societal challenges and instead advocates for a holistic approach to mitigate risks, strengthen user choice, and apply a privacy-focused approach to counter online dangers. The roundtable discussion, which will take place on May 28, will also feature other organizations, including the Trimbos Institute, Bureau Jeugd & Media, Bits of Freedom, Offlimits, the Media Authority, and Unicef Netherlands.