Minnesota’s digital protection must begin at the app-store level

State legislators could miss a crucial opportunity for kids safety online if they pursue a platform-by-platform approach to digital protection Current regulation risks creating a bureaucratic maze that could exclude our majority of vulnerable families Two bills moving through the Minnesota Legislature SF and HF would require social media platforms to obtain parental consent before allowing teens under to use their services While this statute seems well-intentioned it faces important implementation challenges particularly regarding age verification and enforcement across platforms Rather than requiring each social media company to develop its own age verification system a strategy that has consistently failed we should leverage existing instrument at the app store level This streamlined approach would establish a single checkpoint where parents can manage their children s digital access like how we regulate other youth-sensitive products through centralized channels Lindsay CrawfordConsider the real challenges Minnesota parents face this day A working mother shouldn t have to verify her child s age on dozens of different platforms each with its own complex system A non-English speaking father shouldn t have to address multiple technical interfaces to keep his children safe online The app store approach provides a straightforward universal approach that protects both family privacy and parental authority Given these realities Minnesota legislators must revise the current bills to include app store-level verification protocols The technological foundation exists our focus now must be on implementing a comprehensive cure that serves all Minnesota families equitably This moment calls for decisive rather than incremental action as we can establish an effective lasting framework for online safety Lindsay Crawford is the operations manager at Women s Donor Grid The post Minnesota s digital protection must begin at the app-store level appeared first on MinnPost