UT Becomes First State to Pass App Store Age-Verification Bill, Fast-Moving Deepfake Bill in MT & More

UT Passes App Store Age-Verification Bill

Utah became the first state to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for minors to download apps. The bill (SB 142), which now awaits the approval of Gov. Spencer Cox (R), is a big win for social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta.

State lawmakers have sought to make social media platforms responsible for such age gating, but their efforts—including Utah’s own first-in-the-nation age-gating law enacted last year—have been held up by legal challenges. Now, Utah could become the first to pass a bill that would put the onus of age verification on app stores instead.

The measure also marks a big momentum shift on such legislation. Last year, Apple killed an effort to pass an app store age-verification bill in Louisiana. This year, at least a dozen other states have introduced similar measures.

There was no word from Cox’s office on whether he would sign Utah’s bill or not. But he supported the social media platform age-verification measure that is now on hold. (POST REGISTER, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

Deepfake Bill on Move in MT

A fast-moving bill in Montana (HB 514) would give residents legal ownership of their own image and likeness to protect them from artificial intelligence-generated deepfake photos or videos. The measure, introduced in mid-February and passed unanimously by two House committees and the full chamber in a couple of weeks, would allow individuals to sue for damages of up to $50,000 for violations. Other states, including California and Tennessee, have enacted similar legislation. (DAILY MONTANAN, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

‘Kids Code’ Bill Advances in VT

A Vermont Senate committee advanced a bill (SB 69) that would require social media companies to adjust their algorithms and default privacy settings for users under the age of 18. The “Kids Code” is part of a series of data privacy bills the state’s lawmakers are considering this year, after Gov. Phil Scott (R) vetoed a sweeping data privacy measure (HB 121) they passed last year. (VTDIGGER)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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