Senate committee advances bill to require parental approval for app downloads

A Senate committee voted unanimously to give House Bill 161 a favorable report after supporters said the bill would restore parental control over app downloads and opponents warned it duplicates existing platform tools.

Representative Sales introduced HB 161 as a child-protection measure that would require app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain verifiable parental consent before apps may be downloaded to accounts associated with minors. The sponsor said the measure also would require accurate age ratings and truthful descriptions so parents can make informed choices.

Supporters framed the measure as a straightforward way to close gaps they said have exposed children to harmful content. "Did you know that 96% of 14-year-olds own a smartphone?" said Becky Garrettson, executive director of Eagle Forum of Alabama. Garrettson said the bill would require verifiable parental consent, a standard rating system, and anonymized age categories to protect privacy.

Stephanie Smith of the Alabama Policy Institute, who said she is a parent of minors who use phones, told the committee developers currently self-report app ratings and parents need clearer, standardized information. "This bill allows parents to understand what it is that their children are signing up for," Smith said.

Clinical testimony came from Malia Stevens, a practicing marriage and family therapist and board member of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, who said she has "seen firsthand devastating cases of children being groomed and harmed…through apps that were designated as safe for children," and argued HB 161 would help families who are less tech-savvy.

Industry witness Teresa Garcia Robertson, who identified herself as southeast policy for Meta, said the company supports HB 161 and described technical approaches the bill would use. Robertson said app stores can supply secure, anonymized age-range and consent signals so parents approve downloads without sharing sensitive personal documents with each app developer. She noted that age-verification measures have been proposed or enacted in other states and said an app-store approach minimizes additional data exposure.

The bill’s lone opponent, John Tamney of the Park View Institute, argued the protections the bill seeks already exist in device settings and parental controls offered by major platforms. He said the law could create a false sense of security for parents who then reduce other protective behaviors. "HB 161 insults parenting by presuming that you can put on the books something that will just take away all the difficulties," Tamney said.

Committee members pressed witnesses and the sponsor on technical implementation and enforcement. Senator Chamblas, who said he has worked on the issue and was a Senate sponsor last year, said "This law will stop some," while acknowledging it will not prevent every instance of harm. Committee members asked how age verification would be enforced and were told that enforcement would be handled through the attorney general’s office and that the technical infrastructure for age signals exists in device platforms.

After the public hearing and member discussion, the committee voted to give HB 161 a favorable report out of committee. Several members said they would like the sponsor to continue working with stakeholders and technology providers to refine technical details and enforcement provisions before the bill moves to the full chamber.

The committee did not adopt specific amendments during the meeting; members signaled support for moving the bill forward while seeking follow-up work on implementation and enforcement.