As the founder of an educational app, I’ve been closely watching the debate over two bills in Congress: the Parents Over Platforms Act (POPA) and the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA). Both bills aim to protect kids online, but only POPA takes a balanced approach — offering robust protections for kids without overregulating app developers.

We can all agree that kids need protection from high-risk apps. But not all apps pose a threat to kids. If regulations treat all apps like they’re dangerous, they’ll saddle benign educational, health, and utility apps with complex new obligations. That will inflate those apps’ costs — forcing them to hike user fees and making helpful tools less accessible to people who need them.

POPA distinguishes between high- and low-risk apps — targeting high-risk apps with new safety requirements without overregulating low-risk apps. 

When a minor sets up an account with an app store, POPA requires them to provide their age. Later, if that minor wants to download an app that’s not appropriate for people of all ages — say, one that offers different features for minors and adults — then POPA requires the app store to tell the app developer that the would-be downloader is a minor. The developer must then immediately turn on safety features and turn off adult-only content. However, if that same young person wants to download a low-risk app — say, a weather app that’s safe for everyone — no age signal is sent. 

In short, POPA protects kids from risky apps, while keeping data collection and regulatory burdens to a minimum. Critically, the bill also prevents kids from accessing high-risk material through the web, gaming and virtual reality devices, and by “sideloading” from non-app store sources.

ASAA, by contrast, makes no distinction between high- and low-risk apps — requiring app stores to verify kids’ age and get verified parental consent for every app a minor downloads, even if it offers something as harmless as math flashcards. 

That one size fits all approach raises a host of thorny new issues, risks, and challenges. 

First, verifying kids’ ages and confirming parents’ identities will likely require intrusive methods, including government ID checks and biometric verification. Legislation nearly identical to ASAA was blocked in Texas over concerns that such ID requirements violated the First Amendment.  

Worse, ASAA requires app stores to send that sensitive information to developers. That creates huge new privacy and security risks — because the more data is collected and shipped, the greater the chance of leaks or hacking.

Moreover, 90 percent of apps are built by small developers. Under ASAA, they’d have to securely store thousands of kids’ data in accordance with federal children’s privacy laws like COPPA. But small developers aren’t equipped to handle that sensitive data, nor do they have the tens of thousands of dollars it would take to make the necessary technological upgrades. That means ASAA’s blanket age verification mandate could inadvertently lead to serious data breaches. 

Worst of all, ASAA contains several glaring loopholes. 

It allows unrestricted access to high-risk material through websites, gaming consoles, virtual reality headsets, and sideloading — making it a breeze for kids to avoid the rules. 

Its rules also don’t apply to apps that come pre-installed on phones and devices. That means deep-pocketed app companies — including those offering high-risk social media apps — could simply pay device makers to install their apps and skirt the law entirely. 

It’s almost certain that ASAA, if passed, will face the same legal challenges that the Texas law did — tying it up in court and leaving America’s kids without urgently needed online protection. Even if it doesn’t, it still leaves kids woefully unprotected from risky online material — and provides an easy out for many of the most problematic apps. 

Lawmakers can and should do better. If Congress wants a sensible solution that protects kids online without hurting thousands of benign apps that help power the app economy, they should scrap ASAA and pass POPA instead.

Nico Aguilar is co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based Speeko, an AI-powered speech coaching app that helps users improve their public speaking and communication skills.

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