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Mohammedia – Apple CEO Tim Cook is intensifying his behind-the-scenes campaign in Washington, urging lawmakers to rethink a proposed federal child online safety bill that he argues could unintentionally undermine Americans’ privacy.
Cook met with members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, seeking to recalibrate the App Store Accountability Act, which aims to prevent minors from accessing harmful online content by tightening age-verification rules in digital marketplaces.
The bill, as written, could require Apple and Google app stores to authenticate each user’s age before allowing any app download, a requirement tech giants warn would necessitate the mass collection of personal documents such as birth certificates.
Apple contends that such a system would force it to gather sensitive data not only about children, but about virtually every user, a move the company says contradicts decades of its own privacy-first positioning.
Cook’s visit comes as states and governments worldwide race to impose tighter rules on youth social media access. Texas has already enacted legislation requiring parental consent for downloads and in-app purchases for anyone under 18.
Utah approved similar measures earlier this year, and Australia this week introduced a nationwide ban on social media access for under-16s.
Read also: Australia Enforces World-First Rule: Social Media Accounts Off-Limits to Under-16s
While these moves reflect strong public sentiment — Pew Research polling shows broad American support for stricter parental controls and age checks — they have also triggered a pitched lobbying battle among the world’s biggest tech companies.
Apple and Google argue that requiring app stores to verify ages would push them into a role they were never designed to play, effectively transforming them into digital ID processors.
Meta Platforms, on the other hand, has taken the opposite stance, telling lawmakers that app stores are the only realistic enforcement point in an ecosystem where children routinely bypass in-app verification checks.
In a letter to lawmakers last week, Apple’s global head of privacy, Hilary Ware, warned that some proposals risk doing more harm than good.
She argued that age-verification mandates applied at the marketplace level could force companies to collect intrusive personal data even for innocuous apps such as weather services or sports updates.
Apple says any regulatory framework must protect children without compromising the privacy of millions of adults and should place more responsibility on parents to declare a child’s age when using app stores.
Cook’s meetings signal escalating tension between Silicon Valley and Washington as policymakers push for tighter guardrails in the digital realm.
For now, the debate remains far from settled, with Congress weighing growing public pressure against the technological and privacy complications raised by industry leaders.
