Google’s Response to App Store Age-Verification Legislation, States Following CA’s Lead on Data Deletion & More

Google Weighs in on Social Media Age Verification

Days after Utah passed a first-in-the-nation law (SB 142) requiring app stores to verify the age of users, Google finally weighed in publicly on the subject of minors’ access to social media.

In a blog post, the company’s director of public policy, Kareem Ghanem, said the Utah bill and other “fast-moving legislative proposals being pushed by Meta and other companies in an effort to offload their own responsibilities to keep kids safe to app stores” expose minors to new privacy risks “without actually addressing the harms that are inspiring lawmakers to act.”

Ghanem said “Google is proposing a more comprehensive legislative framework that shares responsibility between app stores and developers, and protects children’s privacy and the decision rights of parents.”

Under that framework, app stores would still verify the age of users, but unlike with the Utah law, that age information would only be shared with developers whose apps “may be risky for minors” and only if users or their parents give their consent.

Google’s proposal also includes a ban on personal ads targeting minors and “a centralized dashboard for parents to manage their children’s online activities across different apps in one place.” (PLURIBUS NEWS, GOOGLE)

CA’s Delete Act Catching on in Other States

State lawmakers in Illinois (HB 2913), Nebraska (LB 602) and Vermont (HB 211) have introduced legislation to make it easier for consumers to request the deletion of their online personal information. The measures are patterned after California’s Delate Act of 2023, which provided for the establishment of a “deletion mechanism” allowing consumers to have the personal data about them held by all data brokers deleted with a single request. (PLURIBUS NEWS)

OpenAI Ask Trump to Shield AI Companies from State Regulation

OpenAI asked the Trump administration to consider shielding artificial intelligence companies from state regulations in exchange for the companies providing the federal government access to their models. In a 15-page response to the administration’s request for input on new AI policy, OpenAI said the hundreds of pending AI bills across the country risk hindering U.S. developers’ progress at a time when they’re facing increased competition from China. (BLOOMBERG)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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