App Store Age Checks: A Real Solution for Child Social Media Safety?

As Europe considers restricting children's access to social media, major tech companies propose app stores verify ages and require parental approval for downloads. Meta and Snap Inc. suggest this approach could provide more consistent age signals, keeping underage users off inappropriate platforms.

However, experts argue this alone is insufficient, failing to address systemic issues like addictive design features. While Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store offer parental controls, their effectiveness is limited once an app is downloaded. Parents may also struggle to use these tools correctly or may inadvertently approve unsuitable apps.

Children can potentially circumvent these controls through methods like factory resets or by using alternative operating systems to access different app stores. Furthermore, app store restrictions do not cover desktop access to social media sites.

The success of such age verification hinges on the implementation details, including how verification would occur and whether children could use fake credentials. Several U.S. states are exploring or have passed laws mandating app store age checks, though some have faced legal challenges.

In the EU, regulators are looking to the Digital Fairness Act and the Digital Services Act to enhance online consumer protection. Experts suggest a shift in focus from restricting children's access to making platforms safer for all users, rather than allowing social media companies to evade responsibility for potential harms.