The ASAA won’t protect kids online, but it will put everyone’s data at risk

Published April 1, 2026 11:00am ET



Congress is offering parents a deal: Commit your family’s most sensitive data (such as IDs and biometrics) to app stores, and in exchange, we’ll make it slightly harder for your children to use TikTok.

This sounds like a ridiculous deal that nobody would take — though it’s precisely what Congress is proposing with the App Store Accountability Act. The bill would mandate app stores (Google Play and Apple) to verify users’ ages and procure parental consent for minors, under the guise of “protect[ing] kids and empower[ing] American families.” But this bill would not only create a false sense of safety and protection for parents, but it would also actively put children (and all Americans) in danger.

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