Google says Meta is offloading its responsibility to keep kids safe by backing a Utah bill that puts the onus on app stores to verify users' ages. It's urging the governor to veto it.

Meta has spent more than a year advocating for new laws requiring app stores to give parents control over kids’ app downloads, and just saw an early victory in the states. But Google charges that it’s really just a misguided effort to “offload” Meta’s own responsibility to keep kids safe.

More than a dozen other states in the US are reportedly contemplating similar legislation in an effort to ensure the online safety of kids and teen users. In the past, both Meta and Google have come under fire for allegedly not doing enough to ensure the safety of minors using their platforms.

Google is pushing back against other major technology companies’ efforts to put the responsibility of age verification on the app stores, arguing the onus is on both the stores and