“Today’s poll results send a clear message to South Dakota legislators: parents want our government to put children first. Major app stores’ convenience should not be the priority. Parents overwhelmingly support requiring companies to obtain parental approval for teens under 16 to download apps. CWA of South Dakota looks forward to supporting this proposal until it becomes law, just as we support other measure to protect children online, like HB 1257 dealing with minors’ access to pornographic material.” – Linda Schauer, State Director of Concerned Women for America of South Dakota:
“I am proud South Dakota is leading the way in the protection of children online. This proposal that will require app stores to take responsibility and obtain parental approval before allowing children to download apps is a great step forward to putting parents back in the driver’s seat and holding Big Tech accountable for how its actions impact families and especially children.” – Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America
Poll: South Dakota Parents Overwhelmingly Support Requiring App Store Parental Consent
Concerned Women for America (CWA) of South Dakota released poll results which found overwhelming support among parents and likely voters for requiring app stores to obtain parental approval for teens under 16 years old to download apps.
Key findings of the poll include:
- 85% of South Dakota parents support requiring app stores to obtain parental approval for teens under 16 years old to download apps.
- 78% of South Dakota parents prefer to provide approval for their teen to download an app in one place before it’s been downloaded, such as an app store, rather than providing approval within each individual app after it’s already been downloaded.
- 79% of South Dakota parents say they trust app stores to most securely handle the personal data needed to verify parental approval.
The poll results were released ahead of the upcoming meeting of the South Dakota Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Regulation of Internet Access by Minors – taking place this Wednesday, October 2, at 9:00 a.m. CT. The Committee is expected to discuss an important proposal to require parental approval and age verification at the app store.
CWA of South Dakota’s Legislative Liaison Lisa Gennaro will testify at Wednesday’s committee meeting in support of requiring parental approval and age verification at the app store and emphasizing our overall efforts to protect children and empower parents in South Dakota. This includes our support of requiring age verification for anyone seeking access to pornography websites which contain material that is objectively harmful to minors.
You can view the poll results HERE.
You can view the draft bill language for The South Dakota Application Store Age Verification and Parental Rights Act HERE.
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Concerned Women for America is the Nation’s largest public policy organization for women; we are dedicated to promoting Biblical values and Constitutional principles. More information is available at www.ConcernedWomen.org