Over 50 Child Advocacy Groups Unite to Demand App Store Accountability

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 50 child advocacy organizations have joined forces to form the Digital Childhood Alliance to urge lawmakers to help parents protect their children online by passing commonsense legislation. The coalition is calling for the passage of the App Store Accountability Act across the country. The coalition represents a broad consensus among experts, parent advocates, and child protection groups who see this bill as critical for online youth safety.

"This is a turning point," said Dawn Hawkins, senior advisor to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). "For years, app stores have turned a blind eye to child safety, allowing kids to download apps, enter into exploitative contracts they don't understand, and share personal data--all without parental consent. Lawmakers now have a clear path forward, backed by a coalition of experts who agree: The App Store Accountability Act is vital to creating a safer online environment for American youth."

A Unified Push for Reform

The launch of this coalition comes at a critical moment, as momentum builds in multiple states for app store youth safety. The App Store Accountability Act is advancing in Utah and Alabama right now, with bills also introduced in Alaska, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Hawaii. Several other states are expected to introduce similar legislation in the coming months.

"The time for action is now," said Melissa McKay, a device and online safety expert. "Nearly 90% of teens use an iPhone, yet Apple treats child safety as an afterthought. The company that sets the standard for innovation refuses to apply the same functional elegance to its protections for kids, burying ineffective tools under layers of menus while profiting from children's easy access to predatory apps. Apple has the power to lead on child safety but chooses inaction, leaving children unprotected in a digital world designed to exploit them."

The coalition is urging lawmakers across the country to move swiftly to pass the bill and end the widespread exploitation of children by app stores.

Provisions of the App Store Accountability Act

The App Store Accountability Act is designed to restore parental oversight, improve transparency, and hold app stores accountable for misleading families. It introduces three key reforms:

    1. Parental Approval for App Downloads and Purchases: App stores are
       required to obtain verifiable parental consent before minors can download
       apps or make in-app purchases, protecting children from privacy risks,
       financial harm, and unenforceable contracts.
    2. Accurate and Transparent Age Ratings: App age ratings must reflect actual
       content and in-app experiences. Parents and state Attorneys General are
       empowered to take legal action against misrepresented app safety
       disclosures.
    3. Secure Age Verification: App stores must securely share verified age
       categories with apps, enabling developers to comply with laws like COPPA
       (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and provide in-app experiences
       consistent with their stated age ratings, enhancing safety and
       simplifying compliance.

"App stores are exposing children to risks while hiding the fine print," said Michael Toscano, Executive Director of the Institute for Family Studies. "Children can download a video chat app that connects them with strangers while sharing their exact location, an online pharmacy that sells medications, or a payment platform - use it for a few hours, delete it, and their parents would never know. This bill closes that loophole. It is time to enact common-sense legislation to protect children."

A Moment for Lawmakers to Step Up

Despite increasing public concern about children's exposure to harmful content online, app stores have largely escaped scrutiny despite their centrality to everything that goes on across the digital landscape.

"The App Store Accountability Act brings us closer to a future where digital gatekeepers are held to the same standards as any responsible institution," said Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute. "Imagine if a bank let 14-year-olds take out high-interest loans, sign up for investment schemes, or connect with foreign business partners, while hiding the risks from parents. That would be unthinkable. But in the digital world, this is exactly what's happening every day. It's past time to hold app stores accountable."

With bipartisan support and growing momentum, the coalition is calling on lawmakers to prioritize child safety and pass the App Store Accountability Act without delay.

Digital Childhood Alliance members:

     3Strands Global Foundation                 
     Lynn's Warriors


     A Butterfly Gets Her Wings Back LLC          National Center on Sexual Exploitation


     Addo Recovery-Washington                   
     NC Stop Human Trafficking


     All Girls Allowed, Inc.                    
     No Trafficking Zone


     American Principles Project                  Nurses United Against Human Trafficking


     American Youth Association                 
     Parents Who Fight


     ANEW Life International                    
     Paving the Way Foundation


     Better Screen Time                         
     Protect Young Eyes


     Better Tech Project                        
     Refuge for Women Chicago


     Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition        
     Restore the Child, PLLC


     Bowman Therapeutics                        
     Runaway Girl


     Breaking Generational Cycles               
     Scrolling 2 Death


     Chains Interrupted                           Society for the Improvement of Rural People
                                                    (SIRP)


     CORAFID Centre for Innovation and Research 
     Street Grace


     Defend Young Minds                           Survivor Leader Network of San Diego


     Digital Progress Institute                 
     The Hope Foundation


     Dr. Jill Manning, PLLC                     
     The Institute for Family Studies


     Elijah Rising                              
     The Stop Trafficking Project(R)


     Family Policy Alliance                     
     Tin Man Ministries


     Greenway Recovery                          
     Trafficking in America Task Force


     Guided Purposes, LLC                       
     Transformation Garden


     Hannah's Hope                                Unto You & to Your Children/Revelation &
                                                    Restoration


     Heritage Foundation                          Vessels of Mercy International, Inc.


     Hookers For Jesus                          
     Walk Her Home


     Innocence en Danger - Sellier                Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force


     KIDS TOO                                   
     Zoe Ministries of Delaware


     Kingdom Forerunners

To learn more about the Digital Childhood Alliance, please visit www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org

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SOURCE Digital Childhood Alliance