Apple CEO reportedly urged Texas’ governor to ditch online child safety bill

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Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to make changes to or veto a newly passed law in the state that would require the company to verify the ages of device owners, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Abbott has yet to sign the bill. But Apple, alongside Google, has been working with interest groups to fight the legislation. Apple in particular argues that the implementation of the Texas bill could pose a threat to user privacy. 

The bill would mandate that, if a minor uses a device, their App Store account be tied to their parents’, so that parents are notified of minors’ app downloads and prompted to approve or deny them.

“If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” an Apple spokesperson told the WSJ.

Those in support of the bill say it will allow parents to exercise more control over the relationship between children and their smartphones.

At least nine other states are looking at similar legislation. Apple managed to stop a bill from passing in Louisiana last year, although the state is now revisiting the bill.