Utah has led nationally in online child protection, advancing age verification policies and urging platforms to ensure safe experiences for young users. While these efforts show consensus on the need for age assurance, Utah’s experience also highlights the limitations of a patchwork, state-by-state approach, which causes confusion, compliance issues and gaps that children can exploit. The focus now is on implementing age assurance effectively.
The App Store Accountability Act (ASAA) falls short by imposing heavy verification on all apps, including low-risk educational tools, forcing families to share unnecessary sensitive data. This broad approach increases data collection, expands access to personal info and complicates parental oversight.
The Parents Over Platforms Act (POPA), introduced by Representatives Auchincloss and Houchin, targets risky platforms while sparing low-risk apps by small developers, including many in Utah. It closes loopholes by applying protections across apps and browsers, ensuring safeguards follow the child, not just the app store.
POPA strengthens privacy by using a simple age-range signal set during device setup, rather than ID uploads, and provides parents with a single, clear dashboard to manage controls. Utah families deserve solutions that improve safety without sacrificing privacy. POPA delivers that balance, and Congress should move it forward.
Jodee Leyba
St. George