Apple CEO Tim Cook met lawmakers in Washington as the company pushed back on the proposed App Store Accountability Act. Cook raised concerns about how the bill handles age verification and told members of Congress that the current draft risks user privacy. Apple argues that forcing companies to collect sensitive documents harms both adults and children.
The discussion centered on a key point. Apple says parents should confirm a child’s age when creating an account. According to the company, this approach protects families without requiring unnecessary data collection. Cook also highlighted that Apple wants any age-assurance process to avoid storing personal information.
Apple says the legislation suggests that companies must gather documents such as birth certificates or government IDs. The company believes this crosses a privacy line. Instead, it wants lawmakers to support methods that confirm an adult is actually an adult before they set up a child’s account.
Apple Outlines Its Privacy Concerns
In a separate statement, Apple said it does not want app stores or developers to retain information used for age checks. The company also wants parents to decide whether their child’s age range is shared with developers. Apple argues this keeps control with families instead of shifting responsibility to platforms.
Bloomberg reported that Cook met with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to explain Apple’s concerns. The proposed law requires age verification through a “commercially available method or process” and demands parental consent for each app downloaded by users under 16. Cook told lawmakers that Apple opposes any model that asks for Social Security numbers or similar data.
In a letter to the committee, Apple’s global head of privacy Hilary Ware warned that the act “could threaten the privacy of all users by forcing millions of adults to surrender their private information for the simple act of downloading an app.” She wrote that “there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information.” Ware pointed to Apple’s age assurance feature as a safer path because it lets parents share only an age range, not a birthdate or ID.
Apple has already rolled out updates. These include new age categories, more precise child account controls, and tools for developers like the Declared Age Range API. Apple says the bill ignores systems it already uses, including Screen Time and detailed parental controls.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will review the bill on Thursday. Meanwhile, Apple also faces a similar rule in Texas that takes effect on January 1, 2026, requiring users in the state to confirm whether they are 18 or older when creating an account.
