Utah App Store Accountability Act
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Enacted 2025; key duties delayed to May 6, 2027●●● High threatUpdated March 18, 2026
IntroducedPassed SenatePassed HouseBecame Law
The first state law making app stores verify the age of everyone, and the template the federal bill and other states copied.
IntroducedJanuary 17, 2025
Latest actionEnacted 2025; key duties delayed to May 6, 2027 (March 18, 2026)
Key duties beginMay 6, 2027
What it does
Utah's law makes Apple and Google check the age of every account holder and get parental consent before a minor can download an app or make a purchase. It moves the age check from individual apps to the store itself, so one gate covers everything on the phone.
Why it matters
Utah went first, in March 2025, and Texas, Louisiana, California, and Alabama copied it within months. The federal App Store Accountability Act is the same idea. This is where the app-store front of the age-verification fight started.
Our take
Put the check at the store and there is no app you can install without proving who you are first. Utah handed the rest of the country the blueprint, and the copies are already stacking up.
Votes
- Senate — Final passage (24 to 1) · February 10, 2025
- House — Final passage (64 to 3) · March 4, 2025
Timeline
- March 18, 2026HB 498 delayed key duties to May 6, 2027 and removed AG enforcement, leaving a private right of action
- April 21, 2026CCIA voluntarily dismissed its constitutional challenge after the amendments
Legal challenges
CCIA v. Utah
Voluntarily dismissed April 2026 after the HB 498 amendments
Voluntarily dismissed April 2026 after the HB 498 amendments
Related bills
Our coverage: all age-verification stories