Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) held nothing back as she denounced the failure of Apple and Google to protect minors in their app stores during a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.
Rep. Cammack began by noting that, as a new mother, the hearing "certainly is hitting pretty close to home," and that her bipartisan App Store Freedom Act, which she introduced in May, is not under review.
"I want folks to imagine for a moment what it would look like if parents were allowed to build an online marketplace, an app marketplace, where they could vet the apps and knew for sure that their kids were safe," Rep. Cammack commented. "Today, that is not possible."
Notably, "nudify" apps, which use artificial intelligence (AI) to digitally unclothe subjects, were mislabeled as appropriate for four-year-olds on Apple's App Store, and these "deepfakes" have been under intense scrutiny.
"Apple and Google have said that they are keeping kids safe online. But based on that track record, that is well-documented, do you think that Apple and Google are doing everything that they should to keep kids safe in the App Store?" she asked Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer
"Not even the bare minimum," Thayer answered.
Cammack further questioned Thayer, who had written a letter in support of the App Store Freedom Act, how the bill would protect minors.
Thayer explained that "it is pretty intuitive: More competition means more tools, more tools means more access for parents to use. So at the end of the day, competition is another area where we can actually increase parental controls and also make privacy actually a thing that you have to fight for in the market right now."
Finally, Cammack questioned if monopolies such as Apple and Google are "in the best position to protect kids and their data?"
"Yes, but we need legislation to make sure they actually do what they say they are going to do," Thayer concluded.
