Meta supports Alabama bill that would split apps into age categories

MONTGOMERY, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is speaking in favor of a bill in one Alabama House committee.

“We make them wear helmets. We make them do … everything. We protect them physically in all kinds of ways,” said state Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville. “But when it comes to the internet and cell phones, we don’t protect them at all, and this is what this is about.”

That bill is about splitting apps into age categories for minor and requiring age verification for children who download them. That’s from ages 13 and below all the way to 18 years old.

“Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their teen’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy preserving way,” Meta said in a statement.

But Justin Hill with NetChoice, an association advocating for free speech on the internet, argued that permission should start with education, not limitation.

So we all concur on the reason, but differ on the method," Hill stated. "NetChoice adopts a stance to safeguard the internet — as well as ensure it remains a platform for free expression and commercial freedom.

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Hill said the bill takes parents out of the conversation.

“We won’t see the results that we need to see, and I just need to remind you, many of our members, like Apple and Meta and Google, they are actively doing upgrades,” Hill said.

If those members offer apps to minors without parental consent, the state could sue them under the bill. Melea Stephens, marriage and family therapist in Birmingham, said it’s not about free speech.

Children are exploited through some apps. Stephens is also a part of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

“I work with local law enforcement on these cases, and they’re very heartbreaking,” Stephens said. “So that’s one reason I’m so passionate about this measure because it would go a long way to changing the atmosphere of the digital landscape that our children are growing up in in Alabama.”

The bill did not receive a vote in committee Tuesday. Lawmakers said they want to keep working together on the effort and figure out what is best for the state.

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