Dissecting Utah’s Age Checks for App Stores: Jake Morabito on Rod & Greg
Parents play an important role in effectively teaching their children how to use these tools.
As lawmakers across the country weigh stricter regulations on children’s access to digital platforms, one of the most closely watched is Utah’s new App Store Accountability Act, which requires age verification through government IDs or credit cards for minors. The legislation has drawn attention from privacy advocates, tech companies, and policymakers alike.
Jake Morabito, Senior Director of the Communications and Technology Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), joined The Rod & Greg Show on TalkRadio 105.9 KNRS to explain the ongoing debate on how to best protect children online from age-inappropriate content.
“There’s really passionate arguments on both sides of the equation, because harmful or age-inappropriate content seems to be easier than ever for kids to access if there’s not any parental supervision happening, but at the same time, you know, they are going to need to be taught how to appropriately use AI in their future jobs.”
The conversation then turned to the new Utah law, which requires app stores like Google Play and Apple App Store to conduct age verification for new minor accounts.
“Whenever there’s a new account for a minor, they’re going to have to conduct age verification, which means that they’re going to be either collecting some sort of government identification or a credit card to verify somebody’s age, or, down the line, perhaps like a facial recognition or biometric scan of some sort to verify the age,” Morabito remarked.
Morabito later highlighted the importance of parents teaching their children how to use technology responsibly.
“Parents have a really important role in how to effectively teach their children how to use these tools, and the good news is a lot of platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have parental controls baked into these platforms.”
Morabito also discussed the model legislation ALEC members have passed restricting cell phones that could be applicable alongside this issue.
“Our members passed a policy limiting the use of personal cell phones in schools, which is an issue that a lot of states and local localities have been taking up, is to reduce distractions in the classroom.”
The interview then concluded with Morabito noting that several social media laws have been challenged in courts, citing a recent decision in California that struck down their age-appropriate design code.
“Several of these laws regulating social media have been challenged in the courts. If there is a successful legal challenge in Utah, and then we could be back to square one.”
As debates intensify, the balance between safety and privacy will remain at the forefront of digital policymaking.