Meta Demands App Stores Lead the Fight on Teen Age Verification

Meta has renewed its push for Apple and Google to take responsibility for verifying the ages of teen users, arguing that the current system — which requires every individual app to conduct its own checks — is both ineffective and a threat to user privacy.

Antigone Davis, Meta’s head of global safety, outlined the core problem in a recent post: proving a user’s age online remains a complex, industry-wide challenge, particularly since many teenagers do not hold traditional government-issued identification.

Why Individual App Checks Are Falling Short

Davis warned that asking users to upload sensitive personal documents to dozens of separate apps creates serious security vulnerabilities, especially for smaller platforms that lack robust data protection infrastructure. This fragmented approach, she argued, inevitably leads to inconsistent enforcement and leaves significant gaps that tech-savvy teens can easily exploit.

Australia’s under-16 social media ban serves as a cautionary example. A report from the country’s eSafety Commissioner found that roughly 70% of underage teens were still accessing restricted platforms within the first three months of the ban taking effect.

Meta’s Solution: A Single Checkpoint at the Device Level

Meta’s proposed fix is straightforward — centralise age verification at the app store level. Since Apple and Google already collect age information when parents set up a child’s device, Meta argues this existing infrastructure should simply be extended to govern all app downloads, placing legal responsibility squarely with the platforms.

Despite the logic of the argument, Apple and Google have resisted, wary of absorbing the legal liabilities that would come with that role. Meanwhile, countries including Canada, Spain, France and the UK are all advancing their own teen social media restrictions — most without a clear enforcement mechanism in place.