NCOSE Urges All States to Pass Critical App Store Legislation
WASHINGTON, DC (March 12, 2025) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) commends Utah for being the first to pass the App Store Accountability Act, and calls on other states to consider and pass this crucial child safety legislation.
The App Store Accountability Act will require app stores, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, to verify the age of users before allowing them to download age-restricted apps. It also requires parental consent for minors to download apps or make in-app purchases, and requires transparency in age ratings to inform parents about the dangers on an app prior to download.
“Big Tech has proven time and again that it will prioritize profits over child safety. Parents cannot rely on tech companies to protect their children. Solutions like the App Store Accountability Act will help eliminate current vulnerabilities that children are exposed to on apps that are so ubiquitous in children’s lives. Children deserve to enjoy and learn without the risk of stumbling onto obscene or inappropriate content on their devices,” said Marcel van der Watt, President, National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “We urge every state to pass the App Store Accountability Act to establish vital protections for children.”
“The App Store Accountability Act provides a wide-reaching solution to child online safety that will significantly simplify parents’ efforts to keep their kids safe online. Rather than trying to address dangers one app at a time, it allows parents to have more insight from the beginning–the key places where children download all apps to begin with,” said Dawn Hawkins, Senior Advisor to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
The App Store Accountability Act is also being considered in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
