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BACK, EVERYBODY. AND THANKS FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING.
THERE IS A PUSH AT THE TEXAS CAPITOL TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM HARMFUL CONTENT ONLINE BY REQUIRING APP STORES TO VERIFY KIDS' AGES. WHAT'S BECOMING KNOWN AS THE APP STORE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT WOULD REQUIRE MINORS' ACCOUNTS TO BE AFFILIATED WITH THAT OF A PARENT OR GUARDIAN. THOSE GUARDIANS COULD THEN GIVE CONSENT FOR A CHILD LOOKING TO DOWNLOAD AN APP OR MAKE A PURCHASE. APP STORE SUPPORTERS SAY BIG TECH COMPANIES SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER INTO WHAT THEY SAY ARE VIRTUALLY CONTRACTS WITH CHILDREN.
SEVERAL CONSUMER PROTECTION GROUPS AND SOME TECH ASSOCIATIONS ARE AGAINST THE BILL, THOUGH. THEY SAY THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF AGE VERIFICATION LAWS IS STILL QUESTIONABLE. THEY ALSO ARGUE THIS COULD INFRINGE ON PEOPLE'S RIGHTS. PLUS, THEY SAY THERE COULD BE INCREASED PRIVACY CONCERNS.
NOW, THE TEXAS SENATE PASSED THIS BILL LAST WEEK. NOW IT'S BEEN REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE FOR CONSIDERATION. SO, AHEAD OF LAWMAKERS POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING THIS BILL FURTHER, WE WANT TO BRING IN TWO FOLKS WHO HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT IT. FIRST, WE WANT TO INTRODUCE DAVID, A LAWYER WHO WORKS WITH TECHNOLOGY POLICY AT THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION. AND ANDREA SPARKS, THE CO-FOUNDER OF A NONPROFIT, NOT ON OUR WATCH, WHICH IS AIMING TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN. SO THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I WANT TO START WITH YOU, ANDREA. TALK ABOUT THIS EFFORT, THIS MOVEMENT AMONG WOMEN IN BUSINESS THAT YOU'RE REALLY PUSHING FOR. WHAT LED YOU TO START AND WHY DO YOU FEEL IT'S SO IMPORTANT?
WE ACTUALLY STARTED LOOKING AT THIS AT THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE IN THE CHILD TRAFFICKING TEAM RIGHT BEFORE COVID. AND THEN COVID HAPPENED. AND WE SAW THAT ONLINE EXPLOITATION INCREASED BY 567% DURING COVID. WHERE THE KIDS ARE, THAT'S WHERE THE PREDATORS GO. AND SO WE PIVOTED AFTER COVID TO REALLY START FOCUSING ON ONLINE SAFETY FOR CHILDREN. OUR MISSION IS TO RAISE AWARENESS AMONG PARENTS, KIDS, TEACHERS, ALL OF US WHO CARE ABOUT KIDS, AND POLICYMAKERS ABOUT THINGS WE CAN DO TO PROTECT CHILDREN.
DAVID, I WANT TO TURN TO YOU NOW. SO TALK TO US FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE. WHY APP STORES SPECIFICALLY? WHY DOES YOUR FOUNDATION THINK THAT'S THE BEST PLACE TO MAYBE...?
GREAT QUESTION. THERE'S GOING TO BE FIRST AMENDMENT CONCERNS ANY TIME WE'RE ADDRESSING INTERACTIVE CONTENT ONLINE, RIGHT? SO THIS BILL YOU MENTIONED, IT IS ADDRESSING CONDUCT, NOT CONTENT. SO IT'S A CONTENT-NEUTRAL SOLUTION FOR THE WHOLE MARKETPLACE. THE SECOND THING I WOULD JUST BRING LOGIC INTO PLAY HERE. SO WE WALK INTO A 7-ELEVEN, IF I WERE TO PURCHASE A SIX-PACK OF BEER, WHICH REQUIRES IDENTIFICATION, IT IS THE MARKETPLACE, 7-ELEVEN, THAT IS REQUESTING IT, NOT THE INDIVIDUAL MANUFACTURER, NOT IN HAZARD BUSH. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE APP STORE. INSTEAD OF EACH INDIVIDUAL APP REQUESTING THAT, IT'S IN ONE TURNKEY SOLUTION JUST IN THE APP STORES.
I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT WE MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, THERE IS SOME PUSHBACK TO THIS BILL. SO WE WANT TO LAY OUT FOR OUR AUDIENCE. JUST TO BE HERE IN FRONT OF THE SENATE, WE HEARD SOME TESTIMONY THAT RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT FAULTY AGE ESTIMATION OR VERIFICATION TECHNOLOGY. WE ALSO HEARD SOME PRIVACY CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THE DATA IS STORED. AND THEN FINALLY, AS YOU MENTIONED THERE, DAVID, A BIG CONCERN WE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE TESTIMONY WAS ABOUT WHETHER THIS IS CONSTITUTIONAL. SO WE WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF THAT TESTIMONY FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR.
GOVERNMENT MANDATES WILL GIVE USERS A FALSE IMPRESSION OF SECURITY AND WILL FLATLY OFFERINGS FOR YOUR SAFETY IN THE FUTURE. IF THEY JUST A NATION IS NOT USED AND INDIVIDUALS MUST PROVIDE THEIR LICENSE OR PERSONAL INFORMATION, THAT MEANS COLLECTING MORE PERSONAL DATA, WHICH MIGHT WORRY FAMILIES WHO VALUE PRIVACY AS MUCH AS THEY VALUE SAFETY. THIS BILL WOULD HAVE US ALL SOME COMPANIES FROM THEIR SHARED RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE, PLACING THE BURDEN ON THE SHOULDERS OF A FEW.
AND SO WE'LL KNOW OTHER AGE VERIFICATION LAWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE FACED SOME LEGAL PUSHBACK FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE SUPREME COURT IS CONSIDERING A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO ONE LAW FROM TEXAS THAT TARGETS SITES WITH EXPLICIT CONTENT. DAVID, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GETTING AT THERE, THE CONTENT-NEUTRAL ANGLE OF THIS APP STORE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. TALK ABOUT THAT. ARE YOU WORRIED THAT THERE COULD BE LEGAL CHALLENGES IF THE APP STORE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT MOVES FORWARD?
YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE SEEING IN TEXAS ANY BILL THAT IS PRO-CONSUMER, PRO-CHILDREN, PRO-PARENT, THE BIG TECH TRADE ASSOCIATIONS WILL ALWAYS DO IT. I MEAN, NO MATTER IF IN THIS CASE, THIS BILL BEFORE US, I'M CONFIDENT THIS IS THE MOST LEGALLY UNASSAILABLE SOLUTION THAT'S BEEN ADVANCED SO FAR. THERE'S STILL GOING TO BE A WAY TO TRY TO HOLD US UP IN THE COURTS. AND WE'VE HEARD FROM LEGAL EXPERTS, FIRST AMENDMENT CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERTS, THIS SOLUTION, THOSE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS RAISED DON'T APPLY HERE. AND I COME BACK. THERE'S ONE HER WORDS, AGE ESTIMATION. THIS ISN'T ABOUT ESTIMATION. APPLE AND GOOGLE ALREADY COLLECT ALL THIS INFORMATION. AND WE'RE SIMPLY SAYING, USE IT IN A WAY THAT IS DIGITALLY HYGIENIC SO WE VERIFY THE AGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHILD AND THEN PARENTS CAN HAVE CONTROL TO APPROVE OR DENY WHAT APPS ARE DOWNLOADING.
I DO WANT TO ASK A QUICK QUESTION ON THE POLICY HERE. ANDREA, YOU HAD ADDRESSED IN THAT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. YOU TESTIFIED AND ACTUALLY EVEN READ SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT CHILDREN WERE MAKING THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE IN THE APP STORE. COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT FOR OUR AUDIENCE?
YEAH. I JUST LOOKED TO MY OWN IPHONE THE DAY BEFORE THE HEARING, JUST KIND OF SEE WHAT SOME OF THESE APPS WERE AND THEY'RE RATED CURRENTLY, RIGHT? AGE 4 AND UP, 9 AND UP, 12 AND UP. AND EVEN THOSE APPS RATED AGE 9 AND UP, TOPPING UP CALLED THINGS LIKE PERK. NEW RP BUT STILL PER. AND IF YOU GO IN AND LOOK AT THE COMMENTS, YOU'LL SEE KIDS LITERALLY ASKING FOR HELP ON THE COMMENTS. I'M AFRAID THIS MAN, I DON'T KNOW. SENT ME A PICTURE. ONLY 14. I ASKED HIM, PLEASE NOT TO SEND ME A CERTAIN KIND OF PICTURE RIGHT NOW. I FEEL LIKE HE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE. THIS APP IS CREEPY. I MEAN, IT AND ON AND ON. AND SO I CAN FIND THIS AS PRETTY LOW-TECH PER SE. I KNOW THE APP STORES CAN. SO OBVIOUSLY, WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS BILL AS IT PROGRESSES.
A QUESTION FOR YOU HERE TODAY IS, WHILE TEXAS LAWMAKERS DETERMINE WHAT TO DO, HOW TO HOW TO REGULATE OR NOT REGULATE THIS, WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR PARENTS THAT YOU HAVE WHO ARE WORRIED ABOUT THIS? WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN EMPOWER PARENTS RIGHT NOW WITH TOOLS TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS POLICY?
I WOULD SAY CAN DOWNLOAD APPS THAT HELP PROTECT YOUR KIDS. YOU CAN DO ALL THOSE THE MONITORING AND A LOT. REALLY TALK TO YOUR KIDS. SEXTORTION, ESPECIALLY WITH BOYS. WE'RE SEEING LOTS OF BOYS WHO ARE BEING EXTORTED FOR MONEY THROUGH GAMES IN IVORY COAST AND NIGERIA. I MEAN, THIS IS SERIOUS AND THEY ARE ULTIMATE MANIPULATORS AND THEY KNOW HOW TO GET THESE KIDS. AND WE'RE SEEING A RASH OF SUICIDES. SO PLEASE TALK TO YOUR KIDS AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE PREFER YOU NOT TO POST THESE KINDS OF PICTURES. WE PREFER YOU TRY TO STAY SAFE. BUT IF SOMETHING MAKES YOU FEEL SAD, SCARED, CONFUSED, PLEASE COME TALK TO ME ON YOUR PARENT. I LOVE YOU. I'M ON YOUR SIDE AND WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE THIS OUT TOGETHER. THE WORLD IS NOT OVER.
ANDREA AND DAVID, WE DON'T LEAVE OUR CONVERSATION THERE, BUT THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING AND SHARING YOUR...