Meta has called for laws that would see app stores needing parental approval before a child can download an app.
As it stands, Apple‘s App Store for iPhones and iPads and Google’s Play Store for Android devices require no age verification when installing an app, and Meta demands change.
The company’s global head of safety Antigone Davis proposed a new policy that would serve to protect children online.
“Parents should approve their teen’s app downloads, and we support federal legislation that requires app stores to get parents’ approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps. With this solution, when a teen wants to download an app, app stores would be required to notify their parents, much like when parents are notified if their teen attempts to make a purchase. Parents can decide if they want to approve the download … they can also verify the age of their teen when setting up their phone, negating the need for everyone to verify their age multiple times across multiple apps,” they wrote.
The new stance from the tech giant comes as it is facing an increasing number of lawsuits over child safety after a whistle-blower accused Meta of neglecting security on Instagram, which he believed did not protect children from harm on the platform.
