A few weeks ago, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis, and Rep. Mike Kennedy about something that has been weighing on me as a parent: how hard it has become to keep kids safe online. Lee introduced the App Store Accountability Act, and I was grateful to thank him in person for leading on it. I also asked Curtis and Kennedy to support the bill, because families need more help than we have right now.
Read more Iam Tongi announced as concert headliner for 2026 Utah Area YSA Conference
Utah was the first in the nation to pass a state-level App Store Accountability Act, and that is something Utah families should be proud of. On an issue this important, Utah did not wait around for someone else to figure it out. We stepped forward and said parents deserve a clearer role in keeping their kids safe online.
There are good things that can come from kids being online when it is done the right way. Like a lot of children their age, my kids want to use social media to connect with friends, follow their interests and build their own identity as athletes or through other passions. These are not abstract conversations in our house. They come up after practice, in the car or when a new app starts making the rounds at school. I understand why young people want to be part of that world. But understanding it does not make it less scary.
When you hand your child a phone, you are opening a door, and you do not always know who or what is on the other side. Strangers, private messages, bullying, adult content and honestly, things I may not even know to ask about yet. Right now, too much of that falls on parents after the fact.
That is why the Utah approach makes so much sense to me. The App Store Accountability Act would require age verification and parental approval at the point of download. That may sound simple, but that is the point. It gives parents one place to pause before an app ends up on a child’s phone.
As a mom, that would actually help. I do not want to be sitting on the couch at night digging through another app’s settings, wondering if my child entered the right birthday or if I missed some safety toggle buried three menus deep. I want a system that respects parents from the beginning.
Read more Watch Andy Reid define the pillars that carry his faith, team and family
Utah understood that. Now Congress has a chance to follow Utah’s lead.
That is where I think the App Store Accountability Act gets it right in a way the Parents Over Platforms Act does not. Parents Over Platforms may be well-intentioned, but it does not require parental approval for teens to download apps. It also does not solve one of the biggest problems parents face: teens can misrepresent their ages and get around protections built into individual apps.
Parents Over Platforms still leaves parents chasing each app one by one. The App Store Accountability Act deals with the problem before the download happens. It does not replace parents, and it does not make every decision for us. It just gives us a better place to start.
I am asking Congress to recognize what many parents already know: the current system was not designed with us in mind. It is confusing, inconsistent and too easy for children to access spaces they are not ready for.
In my meetings with Lee, Curtis and Kennedy, I wanted them to understand that this is not a theoretical policy debate. This is dinner table stuff. It is the conversation that starts with, “Can I download this?” and somehow turns into a much bigger discussion about trust, safety, friends and whether we are being too strict or not strict enough. It is the hesitation before saying yes, and the worry that comes after you do. Families deserve better than that, and Utah has already shown the country where to start.
I hope Curtis and Kennedy will support the App Store Accountability Act and help move it forward in Congress. I am grateful Lee is sponsoring it, and I hope Congress listens to the parents who are asking for a simpler way to keep their children in age-appropriate online spaces.
Read more Convicted murderer Kouri Richins seeks a new trial