OAN Staff James Meyers
7:17 AM – Thursday, May 29, 2025
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed an online child safety bill that will require Google and Apple to verify phone users’ age to sign into their app store.
The new law signed by Abbott (R-Texas) will require parental approval for minors before they are allowed to download apps or make in-app purchases. The bill was opposed by both Apple and Google.
“We believe there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Texas now becomes the second state to adopt a similar law along with Utah.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have also made efforts to get the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) into law, which requires social media companies to make specific choices that prevent harming young users.
KOSA was passed by the Senate last year but was halted in the House of Representatives.
Laws that require age-verification put companies like Apple and Google at odds with social media companies.
Meta has made headlines recently after calling for Apple and Google to be responsible for verifying the age of users to use their platforms.
Earlier this month, Apple chief executive Tim Cook called Abbot to halt the passage of the bill, according to the Wall Street Journal.
An Apple spokesperson said the tech giant shares “the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety” but added it was “deeply concerned” by the threat it believes the law poses to the privacy of all users.
“[I]t requires app marketplaces to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” the company spokesperson said.
Earlier this year, Apple announced several new child safety measures, which includes a requirement that users select an age range on a new device.
Meanwhile, the law is set to go into effect starting at the beginning of next year.
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