The Clock is Ticking for Congress to Respond to Mounting Concerns from Parents About Their Children’s Online Safety

In March, the House Energy & Commerce Committee advanced eight youth safety proposals, teeing up action on the House floor. Now, new comments from Florida lawmakers signal strong support for one measure in particular: the App Store Accountability Act (H.R. 3149/S.1586). Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) is already a cosponsor of the App Store Accountability Act, which he calls a “commonsense measure” to help parents “prevent exposure to harmful apps and privacy risks.”

As Speaker Mike Johnson prepares for a floor vote – and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) develops a companion youth safety package – a consensus is emerging that Florida’s members of Congress want to ensure any legislation that advances reinforces parents’ authority over their children’s digital lives.

“Parents are the first line of defense for everything,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) to The Floridian, affirming that parents deserve the right to decide which safeguards are appropriate for their children.

Supporters of the App Store Accountability Act argue that their framework upholds this principle. The App Store Accountability Act would require app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before minors can download apps or make purchases – a premise supported by 93% of Florida parents.

Parents’ rights are a bipartisan priority for Floridians. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) echoed that parents “can use a little help,” when it comes to protecting kids online. He expressed support for ensuring app stores have to get parental approval before companies let their children download apps, creating basic safeguards while preserving parents’ fundamental right to decide what’s appropriate for their kids.

“I’m all for parents’ rights,” Rep. Moskowitz said. “They’re your kids, you should get to make those decisions,” he added.

Other Florida lawmakers are also framing the issue as one of accountability for tech companies.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who voiced emphatic support for the App Store Accountability Act, said that the legislation would help rein in companies like Apple and Google, which she said are a “intentionally targeting young people,” and hold them accountable for endangering kids.

Apple and Google act as gatekeepers of the online ecosystem, not only controlling all app downloads but also how apps are displayed, rated, and marketed towards kids. Recent reports unearthed that app stores steer users, including children, toward dozens of ‘nudify’ apps capable of generating explicit, non-consensual images of minors. Some of the apps were even rated safe for children.

Notably, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is Trump-endorsed in his race to become the next governor of the state of Florida, said that he “100%” supports the App Store Accountability Act. “I think that parental rights are essential in Florida, and quite frankly, should be in the United States of America,” said Rep. Donalds.

For Rep. Donalds, online safety legislation is about putting parents in the driver’s seat of their kids’ digital experiences. “You want to make sure those young kids aren’t being shaped by social media and AI, they are being shaped by their parents,” Rep. Donalds added.

This push for the App Store Accountability Act comes as the tech industry lines up behind an alternative: the Parents Over Platforms Act, or POPA.

Unlike the App Store Accountability Act – which requires parents approve and have a say in what their children can do online – POPA would limit parental rights and allow tech companies to keep parents in the dark about most of what their kids are downloading.

A recent Daily Caller investigation revealed that an Apple-backed trade group, The App Association, launched a six-figure lobbying campaign to support POPA, but prematurely issued a statement praising Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) for introducing a bill that had not even been introduced, raising questions about coordination between Big Tech and lawmakers.

Public opinion favors a stricter approach. Polling shows just 24% of parents support proposals that do not require parental consent for app downloads, while two-thirds say self-reported age verification, which is what POPA would rely on, is insufficient.

As Congress weighs its options, Florida lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sending a clear message that any lasting solution should empower parents, not sideline them.