The app stores, Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store, could well be responsible for verifying the age of users. At least this is the requirement of a bill in the United States which could be tabled soon, and which has a chance of being adopted.
In France, Australia, the United Kingdom, China… More and more legislators want to limit, or even ban, access to social networks for the youngest users. The age differs depending on the country (15 years in France, 16 years in Australia), but the desire is the same. One of the problems that arises is technical: how to concretely verify the age of users?
Apple and Google on the front line
Bank card verification is a temporary solution implemented in France for porn sites. But it will be necessary to find a lasting mechanism: to Metait is the app stores that should be responsible for this task. The idea makes sense, not only Apple et Google have a lot of data – including banking information – to confirm whether a user is an adult. But in addition, this would prevent each application from having to integrate an age verification system.
Of course, Meta does not want to bother with such a mechanism for all its applications, which are also widely used by young people. The group could also argue that it would be simpler and more practical for the gatekeeper to be the central entity capable of ensuring uniformity in age verification.
This proposal is making headway among legislators, notably in the United States where two Republican officials in Washington (Senator Mike Lee and Representative John James) are preparing to table a text on the subject, according to the Washington Post. In detail, the measure would give parents the right to file a complaint against an application store if their child was exposed to certain obscene or sexual content.
To protect themselves, these stores – the App Store and the Play Store in particular – will be able to take measures to protect children against these risks, such as age verification. “ Going through Apple and Google would allow you to rely on [une] proven solution: make the store impose an age limit on addictive or harmful products », Said John James last September.
Apple doesn’t seem to want this extra burden. In Louisiana, a law on the subject was finally rejected under pressure from the manufacturer, with the argument that it was up to social networks to police their users.
The new political situation at the federal level, with a Republican party having full powers, could allow this law to be passed without too much difficulty.
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Source :
Washington Post
Senegal
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