A pair of GOP lawmakers will introduce legislation that would put the onus of age verification on app stores in the latest congressional push to boost online safety for kids.

The bill, titled the App Store Accountability Act, would require app stores like those offered by Apple or Google to verify the ages of all users. It is being introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.), Lee’s office confirmed to The Hill.

“Big Tech has profited from leading kids to inappropriate & dangerous content through app stores, even exposing their personal information to predators,” Lee wrote in a post on social platform X. “I’m proud to introduce the App Store Accountability Act with @RepJames to protect children in America and around the world.”

The bill would also require parental consent for users under 18 on the app stores and link minors’ devices on app stores to parents or guardians. App age ratings would also be required to be displayed. 

“The lack of guardrails on digital app stores defies logic and puts children at risk,” James said in a press release. 

“There is simply no good reason why app stores should be allowed to circumvent the same lawful ID checks that brick-and-motor stores abide by to protect children from accessing age restricted items, such as alcohol and tobacco,” he added. 

The bill, if passed, would mark a major change in the steps app stores will have to take before users can download apps.

The legislation, first reported by CNN, resembles a newly signed law in Lee’s home state of Utah that takes effect next week. The Beehive State is the first in the country to pass such a measure.

It comes amid a broader debate in the technology industry over whether app stores or the app makers should be responsible for verifying users’ ages.

Meta, along with other social media companies like X and Snapchat, argue the onus to verify kids’ ages is on the app stores.

Apple and Google, two of the largest app stores online, argue app developers are better prepared to handle age verification. The companies believe age verification measures on app stores are a risk to the privacy of minors and their parents or guardians.

Earlier this week, Meta and app makers Spotify and Match Group Inc. launched a Washington lobby group over the issue. The group, which includes Garmin Ltd. as well, states age-based content restrictions are the “most effective at the app store level because it is where apps are purchased, and the app store already has the age data.”

Meta, X and Snapchat released a joint statement in support of Lee and James’ measure.
“By centralizing this process within the app store, parents are spared the burden of repeated approvals and age verification requirements across the countless apps their teens use – an approach that has been introduced by seventeen states this year alone,” the companies shared in a statement with The Hill.

Updated May 2