[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6321518,"mediaKeyId","2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3","parentId",2350236,"title","Committee advances App Store Accountability Act to require parental consent for minors' app contracts","audioSeconds",2995,"startMs",1067000,"endMs",4062000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3&start=1067&end=4062","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3/thumbnail_1067000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6321518/Utah/Committee-advances-App-Store-Accountability-Act-to-require-parental-consent-for-minors-app-contracts","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6321518-fdab909f5ce7f1625dca44b4cbc6ca9f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775159214&Signature=NN2U1HtcmS3R7sDclDaizubConmQL5Cz58vrvPkRGyVwf-~ZBJ0T0lJWuewY~5BcMQQrkfi7u14-mGWp3TqGgso454Bf0mNOW5TF~mjKAyVJ0xgq2yOS0PkOzdBaAJ2CSYtoz0ZCk387u6RhLXmJnxg9lbDmXhY~konnlzrxLRw791Hsd5V8pELxboFwzrOrzhYXFuAK7LtD7swD-KznxeRBGPviqbv3jvowmZ8E7gRKq5VKmH~XnoWmMUS2K4AeORpRy2CbuVoX4yYsYWjRPSP1wauTWMPhXr3P~qEZnkcHjIvwp37K9MguVBR8gWwN9W4iseEoOgZLaQBju2qsdA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Utah State Legislature","date","2025-02-19T00:00:00Z","article","A Utah legislative committee voted Feb. 19 to favorably recommend Sixth Substitute SB 142, the App Store Accountability Act, a bill that would require mobile app stores to perform age verification and secure parental consent before minors may enter binding contracts with app developers.

Sponsor testimony framed the bill as a contract‑law remedy to protect minors from entering legally binding agreements online. Melissa McKay, a Utah parent and online-safety advocate, told the committee the bill addresses three areas: parental consent tied to app‑store accounts, stronger and enforceable app age ratings, and app‑store responsibility for age verification. \"We're asking the app stores to require children's accounts in the app store's accounts so that these stores know how old our kids and grandkids are,\" McKay said. \"This bill restores parental oversight for all minors so that anyone ... who’s a minor would have to be tethered to a parent account.\"

McKay and the sponsor described technical mechanisms—existing account birthdates, digital wallets, and anonymous verification APIs—that app stores could use to confirm age without requiring government IDs. The sponsor stressed the bill places most of the implementation burden on the two major app stores and said the bill includes delayed enforcement timelines to allow industry adaptation.

Committee members raised questions about constitutional risk, scope, and impact on small developers. Representative Miller asked whether the bill implicates the Commerce Clause or the First Amendment; the sponsor replied it does not regulate content and argued the state would be defending a straightforward principle that minors lack capacity to enter binding contracts. Representative Jack and others asked whether ordinary, non‑social apps (utility or business apps) would be affected; sponsors and witnesses answered that the app‑store tethering would prompt a short parental confirmation step when a minor attempts a download and that developers could opt out by restricting their app to adults.

Public testimony included both supporters and opponents. Supporters included Utah PTA, Utah Parents United, Utah Eagle Forum and parents who said the bill would help parents supervise children’s device use. Opponents included the Entertainment Software Association and the App Association, which raised privacy, implementation cost, and compliance concerns for smaller developers.

Representative Jack moved to adopt the sixth substitute; the committee later took a roll-call and returned a unanimous 9–0 vote in favor of the substitute and to recommend it to the full House. The bill, as discussed in committee, focuses on app‑store responsibilities for age verification and parental consent, ties deceptive app ratings to truth‑in‑advertising standards, and delays enforcement to give industry time to comply. Several speakers noted potential litigation risks and differing constitutional views; the committee record contains no court rulings or fiscal-note details.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee - February 19, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A committee voted unanimously to favorably recommend Sixth Substitute SB 142, the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to verify age and obtain parental consent before minors can enter binding app contracts and would tie deceptive age ratings to consumer protection law.","taxTitle","2025 Utah Legislature, Utah Legislature, Utah Legislative Branch, Utah","taxId",78171,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6321525,"Committee favorably recommends SB 31 to codify refugee services program",171,880000,1051000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3&start=880&end=1051","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3/thumbnail_880000.jpg","/articles/6321525/Utah/Committee-favorably-recommends-SB-31-to-codify-refugee-services-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6321525-918edee3d308eff21d3c10024b6ad491/orig.mp4?Expires=1775159214&Signature=TgI7CrgcAzSJt-P6CM70gAM4UZle8JnQiJOG3D9r~vT7WwwzYd-z0wNwRsuxayOFPDyLjWHnesU9GSp9WCUMOc36UNbpHxszNqKVRFqzJ~YEvSUFP19JM~cZqLPyvNgME~9fjW8byXZPDQCyrC4tIaE7AkPJs10AFfNxXTcLEPGa9caLnT2Af4qzSHhfm8WeDhM-x-mvaciEHlvtYhcjeQFBsjjVVuzipKZUw0CDyi7cOhDTnXmScVEKHuF4B90a~IPUBIVlbQr06RFRY8ZKW6B6VNzoJnTPY-K6OXFweyMFkwNnaByE4AUF3qoy~B3XvfQqViwN~cvjjG8xHCOqPw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Utah legislative committee on Feb. 19 favorably recommended first-substitute Senate Bill 31, which codifies existing refugee services that have been delivered under policy and appropriations since about 2006–2008.

Sponsor testimony described the bill as a codification of services already provided through appropriations and policy; Kevin Burt joined the sponsor to answer technical questions. Representative Coller asked whether the bill differed from the interim presentation; the sponsor replied it was unchanged and described the substitute as a cleanup of technicalities.

Public comment was not offered on SB 31 during the recorded portion of the meeting. Representative Keller moved that the committee favorably recommend the substitute bill to the full House; the motion was adopted and the committee passed the recommendation unanimously.

Committee discussion, as captured in the transcript, said the bill formalizes long-standing practice rather than creating new services or appropriations in the committee record.","A committee favorably recommended SB 31 (first substitute), a technical codification of existing refugee services the state has funded in practice for years; committee record shows no substantive program changes.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6321529,"Committee backs bill to fund public education on protecting Utah antiquities",723,33000,756000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3&start=33&end=756","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2350236-4f0ea2c8f714742fdde02f41390f10b3/thumbnail_33000.jpg","/articles/6321529/Utah/Committee-backs-bill-to-fund-public-education-on-protecting-Utah-antiquities","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6321529-272dde458ba7c6296154118847c605f0/orig.mp4?Expires=1775159214&Signature=n1CKRdj2NeA3OUgdXZmfDcHk~ZK8FIMPKoRq5EUfsVV2Eya7vRonqPNJzwfuzQpeqz6uTKg81MafTA4li1bNyg9fEXIX7eFi6JxoBhirrbkhMClmCHvim-n694VnN8UOC3naKLQImC-j1d6gREwf4Ep6kTtnmSpdlJIg5dylbUGUjZf-L1hAcXuCdEpJteAPq5stTmKfknMik60u47fVVFYr1IFNhnbDWgxIbUGvtTG7GjKEbn~eahUrurKA7VmggVN5bJCqPU0QP9IiZkk42WONmpoT-A1H-eyw~oGizWlq-MV2x29l7-SgCq212A8ZlSjZ9Km8meCVOU3vAOFGrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Utah House committee on Feb. 19 gave a favorable recommendation to House Bill 388, the Antiquities Protection Amendments, which would fund public education and volunteer stewardship to help protect archaeological and cultural sites from vandalism and looting.

The bill's sponsor introduced the measure and turned the presentation over to Ian Wright, manager of Utah’s Cultural Site Stewardship Program at the State Historic Preservation Office, who said the program’s aim is to prevent destructive behavior through public education and volunteer engagement. \"Providing the public with a means to take action has proven to be a significant value to safeguarding archaeological and heritage sites in the state,\" Wright said during the presentation.

Wright and the sponsor told the committee the program emphasizes prevention over enforcement, pointing to reported incidents of vandalism and looting. The sponsor and Wright cited recent monitoring by cultural-site stewards, noting dozens of incidents in a single month: \"There’s 14 incidents reported by cultural site stewards of vandalism and looting in 02/2024 alone,\" Wright said, and added that 30 of those incidents were considered severe.

Committee members asked about cost and scalability. Vice Chair Paul Cutler asked whether the program is scalable; staff answered it is scalable and that no request-for-proposals (RFP) or request-for-award (RFA) is required to implement the education activities. Representative Shelley raised concerns about potential unintended consequences when preservation designation affects infrastructure projects, citing a past pipeline routing that increased project costs because an abandoned state road became a historical site.

During public comment, speakers including Cale Weston of Salt Lake County and Representative Owens supported the bill. Owens moved that the committee recommend HB 388 favorably to the House floor; the committee voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously.

The bill would codify and fund a public-education and stewardship approach led by the State Historic Preservation Office; it does not create new criminal penalties or specify enforcement procedures in the committee record. Committee members emphasized close attention to potential unintended consequences where preservation status can affect construction or utility projects.","A House committee gave a favorable recommendation to HB 388, which would fund public education and volunteer stewardship to reduce vandalism and looting at archaeological and cultural sites statewide.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee advances App Store Accountability Act to require parental consent for minors' app contracts

Committee favorably recommends SB 31 to codify refugee services program

Committee backs bill to fund public education on protecting Utah antiquities