Parents Over Platforms Act

This legislation, known as the Parents Over Platforms Act, aims to establish responsible age assurance practices within the mobile ecosystem, specifically to enhance the protection of minors. It defines key terms such as "application distribution provider" (e.g., app stores), "developer," "covered application," and "age signal," which indicates a user's age category. The bill requires application distribution providers to ask users for their age, use commercially reasonable efforts to determine age categories, and provide developers with access to age signals when users or parents consent.

Both application distribution providers and developers are assigned specific obligations. Providers must enable parents to prevent minors from acquiring or using certain applications and ensure that data collected for compliance is not used anti-competitively. Developers of covered applications must report if their app offers different experiences for adults and minors, provide privacy and safety information for minors, and make reasonable efforts to determine user age. Crucially, developers are prohibited from delivering personalized advertising to minors and must obtain consent for minors accessing age-gated content.

The bill includes limitations on liability for good faith compliance by both providers and developers, particularly concerning erroneous age signals. Enforcement falls under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission, treating violations as unfair or deceptive acts. Furthermore, the Act establishes federal preemption, meaning its provisions supersede related state laws, and is set to take effect two years after its enactment.