Ohio lawmakers will try again to pass age verification provisions regulating major technology companies, this time targeting application stores rather than individual apps.
Sen. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) and Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) introduced Senate Bill 167 and its identical House version earlier this week. As of Thursday, the House bill had yet to be assigned a number.
“What we’re creating is a partnership that works for families—app stores verify age and obtain parental consent, app developers create safer experiences based on what that verified information is,” Reynolds said Thursday.
If an app is “likely to be accessed by children,” app stores would have to obtain parental permission prior to letting Ohioans 16 years or younger download the app, according to SB 167. Stores would verify user ages through a user’s device.
Reynolds and Miller’s bills were written “to address constitutional concerns that have arisen with other online safety laws,” Reynolds said.
“While the ‘what’ may be the same, the ‘how’ is different,” she said.
A similar statute, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, passed as part of the state budget in summer 2023, mandating social media and gaming sites get parental permission before letting Ohioans 16 or younger onto their platforms.
It was set to take effect last January but has been on hold over a lawsuit filed by the internet trade association NetChoice. The federal judge overseeing that case has yet to issue a ruling on whether to permanently prevent the law from going into effect, a NetChoice spokesperson wrote in an email Thursday.
NetChoice argued in court filings that it was too broad and violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. NetChoice members include Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, Snapchat parent Snap Inc., and TikTok, among other big names in technology.
Several interests, including the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, Center for Christian Virtue, and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, have already come out and backed the new bills.
Tony Coder, the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation executive director, said it’s not to make social media out as the enemy.
“At the same time, however, it is undeniable that the pervasive presence of social media has brought about significant challenges to the mental health, well-being of young people,” Coder said.
Both bills await an initial hearing.
