Meta Pushes App Stores to Take Charge of Teen Age Verification

Meta has renewed its push for Apple and Google to take responsibility for verifying user ages at the app store level, arguing that current teen social media bans are failing due to fragmented and inconsistent enforcement.

Antigone Davis, Meta’s head of global safety, outlined the core challenge in a recent post: proving age on the internet remains a complex, industry-wide problem. She noted that many teenagers don’t hold government-issued IDs, and requiring sensitive personal documents to be uploaded to dozens of individual apps creates serious privacy and security risks — particularly for smaller platforms with weaker data infrastructure.

Why Current Teen Social Media Bans Are Falling Short

Australia’s under-16 social media ban serves as a cautionary example. A report from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner found that roughly 70% of underage teens were still accessing social media within the first three months of the ban. Young users have proven adept at bypassing inconsistent age checks and migrating to unmonitored platforms outside the ban’s scope.

Meta’s App Store Solution

Meta’s proposed fix is straightforward: centralise age verification at the app store level. Apple and Google already collect age information when parents set up a child’s device, and both companies have existing parental approval systems for purchases. Meta argues this same mechanism should cover all app downloads, creating a single, universal checkpoint rather than placing the burden on each individual platform.

However, Apple and Google have resisted the idea, as it would transfer legal liability for any age verification failures directly onto them.

With Canada now advancing similar under-16 social media legislation, and several other countries — including Spain, France and the UK — exploring comparable restrictions, the pressure to find a workable, universal solution is mounting.