Apple CEO Tim Cook personally called Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to lobby against an online child safety bill currently under consideration in the state.
Cook reached out to Abbott last week and asked him to make changes to the bill – or veto it entirely, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The legislation would require the Apple, Google and other app store operators to verify the ages of device users and have minors get parental permission before they allow downloads.
The iPhone maker and other Big Tech firms claim the bill would require data collection that is too invasive and would jeopardize user privacy.
The bill has already passed the Texas state legislature with a veto-proof majority – but Abbott has yet to say whether he will sign it into law.
“Safety and online privacy for Texas children remains a priority for Governor Abbott,” the governor’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. “The Governor will thoughtfully review this legislation, as he does with any legislation sent to his desk.”
When reached for comment, an Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
However, the spokesperson said that Apple is “deeply concerned that (the legislation) SB2420 threatens the privacy of all users.”
“If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information.”
Cook’s outreach to Abbott’s office is just the latest sign of Big Tech’s effort to undermine the bill.
Apple and Google have each funded an interest group that recently bombarded the city of Austin with ads claiming that the bill is “backed by porn websites,” according to the Journal.
Joel Thayer, a Republican lawyer who wrote the bill’s framework, blasted Apple’s attempts to kill the bill despite the broad support it has received from lawmakers.
“This is just another last-ditch effort to subvert a democratic vote by a near-unanimous legislature trying to protect kids,” said Thayer, who’s also president of the Digital Progress Institute. “Typical Apple.”
Texas would be the second state to bill an app store accountability law. Utah passed similar legislation earlier this year, and at least nine states have mulled their own versions.
