Apple executive chairman Tim Cook is cheering on the EU’s broad age verification law, that puts app stores and operating systems in its scope – meaning Apple’s own products could become checkpoints.
This is happening after Apple warned the state of Texas that its own app store age verification law would require the collection of “sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app” – even if they just wanted to get a weather app.
The EU’s top politician, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Apple’s Cook, are clearly on the same page.
After meeting in New York last month, von der Leyen wrote on X that they “discussed the EU Kids Act, and agreed on the importance of privacy, safety and security for children.”
It’s hard to see how privacy and security can be preserved when everyone is forced to submit to an age verification check in order to use an app, or even an entire operating system.
Apple’s problem with the Texas law is that it “impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores,” the company said.
This is precisely what the EU proposal does as well.
The EU’s own age verification app was hacked in under two minutes in April, with scanned ID documents stored unencrypted.
In May, the 5th Circuit US Court of Appeal allowed Texas to enforce its law that requires age verification checks in app stores.
In the EU, the KIDS Act, that was proposed on September 17, has been welcomed by Cook, who met with EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who focus on children’s safety.
“We also welcome the European Parliament’s leadership in championing a harmonised, Europe-wide framework to keep kids safe,” Cook said.
He added, “We’re very encouraged that the EU KIDS Act proposed by the (European) Commission has helped trigger a constructive conversation around this critical issue in Europe.”
“We innovate every day to combat evolving threats, and we’re committed to providing a safe and trusted platform for kids.”
Metsola’s office said the two “underlined the growing need to ensure the safety and well-being of children in the rapidly evolving digital sphere.”
However, as the company itself said, Cook is now focused on policy – and that includes meeting politicians around the world. After meeting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the politician reportedly said Cook called Australia’s social media age verification rules “world-leading.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is unimpressed with the whole concept of age verification (or “age gates” as the group calls it).
“However they’re designed, age gates undermine civil liberties, reduce safety, and create barriers to internet entry, often at the expense of marginalized groups,” EFF says, and adds, “They also create a powerful infrastructure for control and further entrench the power of big tech.”
Apple’s privacy and security brand is well-known, so it’s unclear how it can reconcile that with support for what are essentially digital ID schemes.
