SoylentNews

fliptop [soylentnews.org] writes:

An Apple-backed trade group prematurely published a press release on April 12th praising a yet-to-be-introduced Senate bill, raising questions about coordination between Big Tech companies and lawmakers on child safety legislation [dailycallernewsfoundation.org]:

[...] "The Parents Over Platforms Act [congress.gov] (POPA), sponsored by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), offers a pragmatic, security-first approach by imposing the requirement to receive age information only on apps that provide differentiated experiences for children and adults, like social media apps or adult-only apps,” the now-deleted press release stated.

The bill is expected to be introduced on Wednesday (4/22), according to a release [senate.gov] from Moran’s office,

“Sen. Moran’s office is not aware or involved in any trade organization publishing and then removing a release related to Parents Over Platforms Act,” a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The App Association, which receives substantial funding from Apple, launched a lobbying campaign [actonline.org] in February to support [actonline.org] the bill with advertisements. Apple and Google have additionally lobbied in support of POPA, spending millions on related efforts in recent disclosures [quiverquant.com].

Apple did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.

Original Submission