# 119-s-1586: App Store Accountability Act

119-s-1586, App Store Accountability Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1586
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1586
- Congress: 119
- Title: App Store Accountability Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-01
- Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Commerce
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**This bill would require covered app stores to verify users' ages and obtain verifiable parental consent before minors can download, buy, or make in‑app purchases.** It also limits how age information is collected, requires clear age ratings, and creates FTC guidance and compliance checks. - Parents and families: Parents would use a linked parental account to give verifiable consent and would be notified of significant app changes and if consent is revoked. Age brackets are defined as under 13, 13–16, 16–18, and 18+. - Covered app store providers: A covered provider is one with more than 5,000,000 U.S. users. Stores would have to request and verify age at account creation, provide real‑time age‑category signals and consent status to developers, limit storage of age data, and use safeguards like encryption. - App developers: Developers would receive age category and consent signals to enforce age limits, must request age data or consent at downloads and key changes, and must notify stores of significant changes affecting data or monetization. - Enforcement and oversight: The Federal Trade Commission would issue guidance within one year, run compliance reviews, and certify compliant providers for one year. States could bring parens patriae civil actions with notice to the FTC and the FTC would enforce violations under its existing authorities.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal reviews and enforcement for app stores: benefit, high. This bill would let the Federal Trade Commission treat violations as unfair or deceptive acts and use its usual powers to enforce the rules. The Commission would issue guidance within one year, review provider policies on request and certify compliant providers for one year. The law would also allo…
- Safe harbor for app developers: benefit, medium. This bill would create a safe harbor for app developers who relied in good faith on a covered app store’s verified age data or signal and who followed the Act and industry standards. The protection would apply only to claims under this bill and would not remove other legal responsibilities or liabi…
- New age checks and parental consent: mixed, high. This bill would require large app stores to verify a user’s age when an account is created. If the user is a minor, the store would link the account to a verified parental account and get verifiable parental consent before downloads, purchases, or in-app buys. The bill would set age groups (under 1…
- Which app stores must comply: mixed, high. This bill would apply to any app store with more than 5,000,000 U.S. users. Except where the bill says otherwise, the rules would take effect one year after enactment. Large app stores would need to follow the age, consent, data-sharing, and notice rules in the bill.
- Federal preemption of state rules: mixed, medium. This bill would stop States and local governments from keeping or making laws on the same topics covered by this bill. The subsection would not replace or interfere with contract or tort law.

## Related bills

- 119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025
- 119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act
- 119-s-62: America First Act
- 119-s-4280: SAFE Act

## Sources
- [119-s-1586 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1586)

## Related
- [119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5653)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1801)
- [119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1249)
- [119-s-62: America First Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62)
- [119-s-4280: SAFE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4280)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1586 (as of 2026-09-10).