Media Coverage
Source: Cybersecurity Law Report
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Thomas
09.03.25
Texas, Utah and Louisiana now require app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors—measures that could involve ID or selfie checks. App developers must also be aware of users’ age ranges, even if their apps are not specifically intended for children. A recent Supreme Court ruling supports these kinds of laws, meaning more websites may soon be required to implement age verification, as well.
“The title of the laws, app store accountability, shows that this is changing the conversation” about interventions for child safety and minors’ privacy,” Regulatory partner Shruti Bhutani Arora told the Cybersecurity Law Report.
On the data compliance side, Bhutani Arora explained that verifying users’ ages involves sensitive personal data. “Because the verifications collect information that could be classified as sensitive personal information, this is as complicated as it gets,” she said. “It may require hiring a vendor, a technical build.”
“It’s a whole company-wide effort to adjust. It’s not flipping a switch,” she added.
Recognizing that user retention is a key business concern, Bhutani Arora highlighted the potential impact, stating: “The deliberation [about age verification’s impact] can lead to redesigning or redefining what the product is.”
She also warned that companies conducting their own age verification should be mindful of increasing regulatory scrutiny, particularly around dark patterns in how age checks are designed.
Bhutani Arora further addressed enforcement challenges, emphasizing the need to prepare for scenarios like parental consent being revoked. Companies must be able to “verify the parent’s identity and check if a minor is emancipated,” she said.
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