App Store Accountability Act

The App Store Accountability Act requires large app store providers and app developers to implement age verification, parental controls, and transparent age ratings to protect minors from harmful app content and purchases. It establishes an advisory committee to recommend best practices for age ratings and gives the Federal Trade Commission enforcement authority with civil penalties.

Sec. 3, Definitions: Defines key terms including age categories (adult, teenager, child, young child), app, app store, covered app store provider (any person owning an app store with over 5 million U.S. users), developer, minor, parent, and verifiable parental consent.

Sec. 4, App store obligations: Requires covered app store providers to verify each user's age category using commercially reasonable methods, obtain verifiable parental consent before minors use the app store or download or purchase apps (on a per-download or per-purchase basis, with consent valid up to 7 days for purchases), provide parental controls for web filters and usage limits, display age ratings clearly, and give developers real-time signals about a user's age category and parental consent status.

Sec. 5, Developer obligations: Requires developers to provide clear age ratings and content descriptions consistent with advisory committee best practices, use the app store provider's signal to verify user age and parental consent, and offer features for parents to set time restrictions and view usage metrics.

Sec. 6, App age ratings transparency advisory committee: Directs the FTC to establish an advisory committee within 60 days to recommend best practices for age ratings, with members from content creators, developers, child welfare groups, parents, and others. The committee must report to Congress annually for the first year and every 3 years thereafter, and terminates after 15 years unless the FTC decides otherwise.

Sec. 7, Compliance: The FTC must issue guidance within one year to help covered app store providers and developers comply with the Act.

Sec. 8, Enforcement: Violations are treated as unfair or deceptive acts under the FTC Act. Specific civil penalties include $500 per user for knowing misstatements of content, $250 for negligent misstatements, and $1,000 per user for failure to verify parental consent, with a maximum of $4 billion per violation. General penalties for other violations are up to $2 billion per violation. The FTC can also seek injunctions, consumer redress, and cease-and-desist orders. Maximum penalties double for repeated or flagrant violations.

Sec. 9, Preemption: The Act preempts any state or local laws that impose substantially similar obligations on app store providers and developers.

Sec. 10, Severability: If any provision is held invalid, the rest of the Act remains in effect.

Sec. 11, Effective date: The Act takes effect one year after enactment, except as otherwise provided.