[Blaze via Bongino] Now, a new bill proposed by Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) would require operating system developers — including Apple, Google, and Microsoft — to verify the ages of their users when setting up a new device.The bill is actually a Trojan horse for mass data collection.
THIS IS THE PARENTS DECIDE ACT
The new bill, unassumingly named the Parents Decide Act, includes several key requirements that all platform holders would have to recognize if the bill passes. These include:
- Strict guidelines that state OS platform holders must verify the age of every user when they set up a new device. The bill is clear that it’s not enough to have users self-report their date of birth and age; hard-proof verification is required.
- Custom content controls that let parents set age-appropriate parameters on their children’s devices. This includes the ability to limit access to social media, apps, and even AI platforms.
- A pathway to ensure that all apps installed on a device are tuned to adhere to the custom controls in the previous point. No workarounds or exceptions will be allowed.
- A trusted multi-platform standard that bans children from accessing what the government labels "harmful" or "explicit" content on any device made by any OEM on any software platform. On the surface, this can include adult content and conversations with AI chatbots, although "harmful" or "hateful" speech has taken on different meanings to the left over the years, usually to describe speech that doesn’t align with their views.
To be clear, the Parents Decide Act would require these protections to be built directly into the software of every device — it would become a core feature within iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. There are questions as to how the government would enforce the bill on open-source Linux, but it will certainly try.