179 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
179 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
# Utah SB-142 & Texas ASAA — Legislative and Lobbying Analysis
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**Research Date:** 2026-03-12
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**Data Sources:** Utah Legislature (le.utah.gov), Texas Legislature, CNN, Al Jazeera, Insurance Journal, R Street Institute, NetChoice, ACT | The App Association
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---
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## Executive Summary
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Utah SB-142 was the **first state App Store Accountability Act**, signed March 26, 2025. Texas followed in May 2025, and Louisiana in June 2025. Meta lobbied **in support** of all three bills, deploying lobbyists in 45 states. DCA's Melissa McKay was integral to Utah's passage. Opposition came from NetChoice, R Street Institute, Chamber of Progress, CCIA, and ACT | The App Association. A federal judge has since **paused Texas's law**. Meta's all-time lobbying record of **$26.29M in 2025** and deployment of **86+ lobbyists** underscores the scale of this campaign.
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---
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## 1. Utah SB-142 — App Store Accountability Act
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### Bill Details
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| Field | Value |
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|-------|-------|
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| **Bill** | SB-142 |
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| **Title** | App Store Accountability Act |
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| **Sponsor** | Senator Todd Weiler |
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| **Committee** | Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology |
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| **Committee Vote** | Unanimous favorable recommendation |
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| **Hearing Date** | January 28, 2025 |
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| **Signed** | March 26, 2025 (first in nation) |
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| **Governor** | Spencer Cox |
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### Committee Hearing — Testimony
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**Duration:** Over 2 hours of public comment and debate
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**In Support:**
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- **Melissa McKay** (DCA Chair) — "Trillion-dollar companies should not be able to broker underage children to other billion-dollar companies without parental oversight"
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- **Senator Todd Weiler** — bill sponsor
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- Various parent advocates
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**In Opposition:**
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- **Steven Greenhut** — Western Region Director, R Street Institute (testified Jan 28, 2025)
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- **Bartlett Cleland** — NetChoice (written testimony)
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- Various tech industry representatives
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### Key Testimony Quotes
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McKay: "It's so important that parents understand which apps their kids are downloading and that they have full disclosures about what those apps do and what they are rated."
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McKay: "If the bill were signed into law, it would address the 'exploitative parts' of the mobile device app stores (Google and Apple)" — noting app stores currently treat children older than 12 as consenting legal adults.
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### DCA Involvement in Utah
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- McKay is an American Fork, Utah resident — provided "local mother" narrative
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- DCA issued official statement praising passage
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- Coalition of 60+ advocacy organizations supported the bill
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- Senator Mike Lee endorsed and reintroduced at federal level
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---
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## 2. Texas App Store Accountability Act
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### Bill Details
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| Field | Value |
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|-------|-------|
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| **Bill** | SB 2420 (or equivalent) |
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| **Status** | Signed by Governor Greg Abbott, May 2025 |
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| **Effective Date** | January 1, 2026 |
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| **Key Requirement** | App stores must verify user ages and require parental consent for users under 18 |
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### Meta's Texas Lobbying
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- Meta **lobbied in support** of the Texas bill
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- Part of Meta's strategy to shift age verification burden to Apple and Google
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- Per ACT | The App Association: Meta "bankrolled a wildly expensive lobbying campaign to enact ASAA and its state-level analogs"
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### Legal Challenge
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- **NetChoice** filed lawsuit to block Texas law
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- A **federal judge paused the Texas law** in December 2025 (per Politico Pro)
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- Challenge based on First Amendment and privacy grounds
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---
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## 3. Meta's National Lobbying Campaign
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### Scale (2025)
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| Metric | Value |
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|--------|-------|
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| Total lobbying spend | **$26.29 million** (2025, all-time record) |
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| Number of lobbyists | **86+** (up from 65 in 2024) |
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| States with hired lobbyists | **45 of 50** |
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| Louisiana lobbyists for HB-570 | **12** |
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### State-Level ASAA Campaign
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DCA-backed ASAA bills introduced in approximately **20 states**, including:
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- **Utah** — SB-142, signed March 2025 ✓
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- **Louisiana** — HB-570, signed June 2025 ✓
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- **Texas** — signed May 2025 ✓ (paused by judge Dec 2025)
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- **Kansas** — under consideration March 2026
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- **South Carolina** — next target
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- **Ohio** — next target
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### Federal Bill
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- **App Store Accountability Act** — introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK), May 2025
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- DCA press release: "100+ Child Advocates Praise Introduction of App Store Accountability Act as National Momentum Grows"
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---
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## 4. Opposition Organizations and Arguments
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### NetChoice
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- Trade association of internet businesses
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- Filed written testimony against Utah SB-142
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- Filed lawsuit blocking Texas law
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- Argument: Bills violate First Amendment rights, create privacy risks
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### R Street Institute
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- Steven Greenhut testified against Utah SB-142 on Jan 28, 2025
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- Arguments: Privacy and security risks of age verification systems
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### Chamber of Progress
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- Filed opposition letter against LA HB-570
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- Argument: App store age verification is technically flawed and shifts responsibility
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### CCIA (Computer & Communications Industry Association)
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- Urged caution on Louisiana HB-570
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- Argued bill puts online privacy at risk
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### ACT | The App Association
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- Published detailed analysis: "Into the Metaverse: The Money and Motivations Behind Meta's App Store Gambit" (May 23, 2025)
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- Called Meta's campaign "bankrolled" and "wildly expensive"
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- Published follow-up: "Meta Takes its Texas Rodeo Global" (July 11, 2025)
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---
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## 5. Texas Ethics Commission — Meta Lobbying
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While specific Texas Ethics Commission filings were not directly accessible, the following is established:
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- Meta has hired lobbyists in Texas (part of 45-state campaign)
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- Texas ASAA was signed into law, confirming successful lobbying
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- The bill faced legal challenge from tech industry groups
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- Meta's strategy in Texas mirrors Utah and Louisiana: support bills that target app stores, not social media platforms
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---
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## 6. Key Strategic Insights
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### App Store vs. Social Media Framing
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All three bills (UT, TX, LA) target **app store operators** (Apple, Google), not **content platforms** (Meta). This serves Meta's interest by:
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1. Placing compliance burden on competitors
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2. Preserving Meta's ability to serve algorithmic content to verified users
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3. Positioning Meta as a "child safety advocate" rather than a regulatory target
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### Conservative Coalition Strategy
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The DCA coalition (Heritage Foundation, NCOSE, Moms for Liberty) provides:
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- Bipartisan legislative support (Republican-led states first)
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- "Grassroots" appearance through parent activism
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- Credibility with conservative legislatures
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- Shield against accusations of Big Tech astroturfing
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### Legal Vulnerability
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Texas's judicial pause signals potential constitutional challenges to all three laws, which could ultimately benefit Meta by:
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- Creating uncertainty that delays Apple/Google compliance
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- Maintaining the status quo where no entity performs robust age verification
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- Providing ongoing advocacy opportunity for DCA (and continued Meta funding justification)
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---
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## Sources
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- Utah SB-142: https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/SB0142.html
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- R Street Testimony: https://www.rstreet.org/outreach/testimony-in-opposition-to-utah-senate-bill-142-app-store-accountability-act/
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- NetChoice Testimony: https://netchoice.org/netchoice-testimony-in-opposition-to-utah-sb-142/
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- ACT Article: https://actonline.org/2025/05/23/into-the-metaverse-the-money-and-motivations-behind-metas-app-store-gambit/
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- Insurance Journal: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm
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- CNN Texas: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/tech/texas-apple-google-app-store-age-verification-law
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- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/5/27/texas-to-require-age-verification-for-app-purchases
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- Deseret News: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/
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- DCA Utah Statement: https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/statement-utah-governor-cox-signs-app-store-accountability-into-law/
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- DCA Journey Article: https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/journey-to-protecting-children-in-digital-spaces-how-utah-became-a-model-for-app-store-accountability/
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- Meta Lobbying Record: https://domepolitics.com/2026/02/meta-breaks-all-time-lobbying-record-as-georgia-lawmakers-consider-online-safety-bills/
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