US Bill Would Mandate On-Device Age Verification for All Devices

The US Parents Decide Act (H.R. 8250) would require date-of-birth entry during new device setup, effectively building age verification infrastructure into virtually all general-purpose computing devices.

The scope goes beyond mobile OSes like Apple, Google to broadly cover laptops, consoles, smart TVs, and vehicle infotainment systems.

While the bill is framed around child protection, it has drawn criticism for lacking any adult exemption or opt-out, creating a structure where using a device at all presupposes identity verification.

Key provisions include the following.

• Section 2(a)(1): Requires OS providers to collect date of birth during account creation and device use
• Section 2(a)(3): Requires OS providers to build a system that lets app developers query age information
• Section 2(d)(1)(B): The FTC to determine data security rules and age verification methods at a later date
• Section 2(b): Provides a safe harbor for compliant OS providers
• Section 2(g)(4): Broadly defines OS as software that supports the basic functions of a general-purpose computing device

This structure raises concerns that Apple and Google would be reinforced as age brokers for app access in the US, while smaller OSes or open-source projects could effectively be excluded.

The bill also does not specify concrete methods of age verification, leading to speculation that it could in practice devolve into methods such as government IDs, credit cards, biometrics, or ID uploads. As a result, it is assessed as potentially having a major impact on privacy, anonymity, freedom of expression, and market competition.