HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 101
(By Delegate Hillenbrand)
[Originating in the Committee on Energy and Public Works; Reported on April 7, 2025]
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to conduct a comprehensive study on parental consent measures to be implemented by device manufacturers and application stores on software applications downloaded by children under the age of 18.
Whereas, Children under the age of 18 may download software applications without parental consent, potentially exposing them to inappropriate content, online risks, and unsafe interactions; and
Whereas, The rapid growth of mobile devices and online application stores has made it increasingly difficult for parents to effectively manage and monitor their children's access to digital content; and
Whereas, Ensuring children’s safety and well-being while using digital platforms requires proactive measures by device manufacturers, application stores, and app developers to minimize exposure to potentially harmful content and experiences; and
Whereas, Requiring parental consent prior to allowing children under the age of 18 to download software applications can provide an added layer of protection against inappropriate content and online risks, while fostering a safer digital environment for children; and
Whereas, Manufacturers of devices should take reasonable steps to determine the age of the device’s primary user upon activation, ensuring that children’s age is accurately recorded and used to enforce parental consent requirements for software downloads; and
Whereas, Application stores should be required to obtain parental consent before permitting a known child user to download an application, with secure and straightforward methods to involve the parent or guardian in the decision-making process; and
Whereas, Device manufacturers and application stores should provide developers with age-related signals, such as age verification data, that will assist them in complying with parental consent requirements and delivering age-appropriate content to children; and
Whereas, The age-related signals provided by device manufacturers and application stores should indicate whether a user is: under 13 years of age; at least 13 years of age, and under 16 years of age; at least 16 years of age, and under 18 years of age; or at least 18 years of age; and
Whereas, Developers should be required to include features that enable parents to manage and monitor their child’s application usage, including content delivery and screen time limits, for any user known to be under the age of 18; and
Whereas, The child safety objectives of this resolution include protecting children from potentially harmful content, including age-inappropriate material, explicit content, and unsafe online interactions, by implementing effective age verification systems and parental controls; and
Whereas, Establishing standardized procedures across device manufacturers and application stores for determining a user’s age and obtaining parental consent before granting access to downloadable content will ensure consistency and effectiveness in safeguarding children’s digital experience; and
Whereas, Enforcement of the standardized procedures should be by the Attorney General and any resulting legislation should provide for a civil action by the Attorney General but not create any private rights of action; and
Whereas, The Regular Session of the Legislature, 2025, developed HB2609 with these concepts in mind and should be used as a framework for any draft legislative resulting from this study; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to conduct a comprehensive study on parental consent measures to be implemented by device manufacturers and application stores on software applications downloaded by children under the age of 18.
Further Resolved, That the Committee on Government and Finance report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with any drafts of legislation it may propose, to the Regular Session of the Legislature, 2026, and the Honorable Delegate Rick Hillenbrand.