House Bill 161–the legislation sponsored by state Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, that would require Alabama residents to verify their age before installing apps on their phone–is now one step closer to becoming law. On Wednesday, the Alabama Senate Children and Youth Health Committee unanimously passed the bill after holding a lengthy public hearing.
HB161 would specifically require users to verify their age before downloading an app, purchasing an app, or making an in-app purchase on a phone or other electronic device. If a user is determined to be a minor, their account must then be linked to the account of a parent or guardian, whose consent would then be required before the user can download apps or make in-app purchases.
The bill stipulates that app store providers would gain access to real-time “age category data” for all Alabama users under its provisions, although it would mandate that developers protect that data by limiting its use outside of verifying the age of users.
App developers who violate the terms of the legislation would be subject to prosecution by Alabama’s attorney general, with violations constituting a “deceptive trade practice” punishable by a fine of up to $7,500 with the potential for additional punitive damages after repeated violations.
In addition to Rep. Sells and Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville–who sponsored a previous version of the bill in the Senate last session–a slate of four proponents spoke in favor of the bill during Wednesday’s public hearing. John Tamny, president of the Parkview Institute, a nonprofit think tank which advocates for free market economic policies, was the lone speaker to oppose the bill.
Becky Gerritson, the executive director of the conservative advocacy group Eagle Forum of Alabama, was the first proponent to speak in favor of the bill. Gerritson called HB161 a “reasonable, commonsense bill” that “puts parents back in the driver’s seat.” She argued that the bill’s provisions are both practical and feasible, as app stores already have access to user age data and age verification processes.
Stephanie Smith, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank, also encouraged the committee to pass the bill. Smith cited API’s own polling from April 2025, which found that among 600 likely Alabama voters, 83 percent said they supported requiring app stores to implement a parental approval system.
The bill’s third proponent was Melea Stephens, a marriage and family therapist from Birmingham who serves on the board of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, NCOSE. Stevens argued that the bill would protect minors from online dangers like grooming and sex trafficking by providing parents with transparent age ratings and allowing them to control which apps their children can access.
HB161 has also garnered industry support, most notably from Meta, the company behind Facebook. Theresa Garcia Robertson, a public policy manager at Meta, was the last speaker to advocate for the bill at Wednesday’s hearing.
Garcia Robertson said that Meta supports HB161 because the bill “ensures that app developers like Meta can place younger users into age-appropriate experiences on our platforms.” She also told the committee that the bill would prevent any sensitive information from being shared with app developers and that the bill’s provisions would be easy to implement.
“Apple and Google already collect this information and have systems in place to obtain parental approval before teens can purchase an app,” Garcia Robertson stated. “They should use this existing infrastructure for all app downloads, not just the paid ones.”
Meanwhile, John Tamny, the lone speaker to oppose the bill, argued that HB161’s measures are “superfluous” and an “insult” to parents.
“To me, HB161 insults parenting by presuming that you can put on the books something that will just take away all the difficulties, all the daily challenges of being a parent,” Tamny told the committee.
Additionally, he argued that, if enacted, the bill could create a “false sense of security” and decrease vigilance among parents, inadvertently exposing minors to more danger online.
Senator Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, told Tamny that she generally agreed with his understanding of the bill.
“I think the parents have to take accountability. If they’re going to buy that phone, they need to check what’s on it, they need to know what’s on it,” Figures said.
Figures suggested amending the bill in some fashion to ensure it would not simply reiterate age verification measures which are already in place, but no specific amendment was ultimately proposed.
After the conclusion of the public hearing, the committee gave HB161 unanimous approval, with Figures clarifying that she was only voting in favor of the bill on the condition that she could speak about its provisions further with Sen. Chambliss “to get a complete understanding.”
HB161 will now go to the Senate floor for consideration by the whole chamber. If it passes the Senate, the bill will then go to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk where it could be signed into law.
