Tech Industry Divided Over Advancing Louisiana App Store Bill

The measure, which the Louisiana House unanimously passed May 12 (see 2505130015), mirrors laws in Texas (see 2505270048) and Utah (see 2503270047).

The concept is dividing members of tech associations, with Apple and Google representing the two largest app stores. Both companies filed in opposition to HB-570 but didn’t send company representatives to testify at Wednesday's hearing. ACT | The App Association, largely funded by Apple, testified in opposition. NetChoice, which counts Meta, Google and X as members, testified against. X has publicly backed HB-570.

“There’s obviously a lot of disagreement on the best approach to the problem we hope to solve,” said Jason Saine, a former North Carolina state lawmaker who testified for NetChoice. “We all agree there’s a problem, but this [app store] approach is not how a majority of the folks who are involved in the tech industry feel that this is the right solution.”

Sen. John Morris (R) repeatedly asked about funding sources for Digital Childhood Alliance, an organization that testified Wednesday and is campaigning for a federal app store age-verification bill. Repeatedly questioned about Meta’s potential involvement, Digital Childhood Alliance Executive Director Casey Stefanski said the organization is “happy” Meta supports the bill but declined to identify tech industry funding sources.

Stefanski said she met Tuesday with Google, seeking the company’s support.

A Google spokesperson on Thursday pointed to remarks from Kareem Ghanem, senior director-government affairs & public policy. Ghanem told The Advocate that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg supports proposals like HB-570 because they shift responsibility to app stores and won't impact Instagram or other business operations. Google supports child safety but wants shared responsibility between social media companies and app stores, he said.

A Meta spokesperson on Thursday pointed to its joint statement with X and Snap in reaction to Texas' newly signed law: "Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play. We applaud Texas for taking this important step and urge Congress to follow suit."

Apple didn’t comment Thursday.

Morris, during the hearing, successfully attached an amendment tweaking language in the bill in an effort to more evenly distribute age-verification requirements for app stores and developers. HB-570 author Rep. Kim Carver (R) told the committee he doesn’t want to “absolve” any app developers, including Meta, from age-verification responsibility.

Ninia Linero, senior manager-state government affairs for ACT, testified that HB-570 will set conflicting compliance requirements with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, an FTC-enforced federal child privacy law.

HB-570 requires app developers to implement “robust” age-verification systems for all users before a minor can access services, while COPPA requires verifiable parental consent for companies to collect children’s personal information, she said: “This difference creates a conflict between state and federal law, which will make simultaneous compliance difficult.”

Saine agreed about the complications with COPPA. He also argued the bill would undermine privacy given the collection and storage of sensitive personal information. He said it also violates the First Amendment and will likely be struck down like similar age-verification measures in California, Utah, Ohio, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Chris Masters, an internet crimes investigator with the Louisiana attorney general’s office, testified in favor of HB-570. Stores selling alcohol and cigarettes are required to check identification, and Louisiana should do the same with multi-billion-dollar tech companies, he said.

Sen. Stewart Cathey (R) said if the bill becomes law, members can continue to seek changes until the July 2026 effective date. Morris said that also allows Louisiana to monitor what courts decide on similar age-verification laws.