Congress is once again debating whether app stores should be required to verify ID before allowing anyone, of any age, to download an app. The App Store Accountability Act, introduced more than a year ago by Rep. John James (R-MI) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), would force app stores to verify a user’s age and secure parental consent before a minor could install anything. James and Lee say the bill is aimed at protecting children from predators and addictive content.“Kids cannot consent, and any company that exposes them to addictive or adult material should be held accountable,” James said when the bill was introduced. “The App Store Accountability Act holds Big Tech companies to the same standard as local corner stores.”That goal is widely shared. But the bill’s age-verification mandate would apply to every app in the store, not just the social media platforms lawmakers say they’re targeting, and that’s where the trouble starts for conservatives.
PROGRESSIVES EMPOWER THE AMERICAN ISLAMIST PIPELINE
Turning Point USA, the youth organizing group Charlie Kirk built before his death, runs an app that underpins its “Club America” network of high school chapters, much of it organized through X, Instagram, and Facebook. The National Rifle Association has an app, too. So do Fox News, Newsmax, the Daily Caller, the Daily Wire, and the outlets under the Salem Media umbrella.
