Meta Is Right. Apple and Google Can Do More to Protect Kids

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The question of age verification on the internet has always been fraught. Every now and then, a usually well-intentioned politician sees requiring age checks as a straightforward policy victory only to realize later not nearly enough consideration had been given to how a practical system would truly work. 

Privacy advocates argue users shouldn't need to confirm their age and identity to use apps or browse the web, even when (or especially when) they're looking for sexual or other content they would like to keep secret. Handing over credit card information, even if there's no charge, comes with obvious security and privacy implications. Another option, such as verifying users by having them upload a government ID, is even worse — not to mention exclusionary. Newer efforts to use computer camera technology to estimate a person's age show promise, though I wouldn't blame any user for not trusting such a process.

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But that doesn't mean everyone should just throw their hands up in frustration. Options are not lacking to protect children — we just need to recognize the right ones when we see them. Meta Platforms Inc.'s call this week for federal regulation to add an age verification process to popular app stores is one such example. The Facebook and Instagram owner — which already goes to considerable (if partly futile) efforts to restrict young users on its platforms and keep those younger than 13 off its main apps — is arguing for Apple and Google to always obtain a parent's approval whenever a child younger than 16 tries to download an app from their stores. Both companies already offer opt-in features to require parental approval for app downloads and purchases, but Meta wants it to be