Right to Parent

You already have what it takes to protect your kids. You don’t need a new law to prove it.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

New post up by Ben Gillenwater @family_itguy

--> https://t.co/ti2ljhFVCU

[Western Civ Maximalist @brian_lenney]

Kevin, wrote that “Parents should be in the driver’s seat.”

We already are.

Every phone ships with parental controls you can setup in 2 minutes. This bill makes us show the app store our ID before we’re allowed to drive our own truck. (Meta’s August settlement shows where that road ends: an ID upload or face scan for every user in the states that signed it.)

And the beer analogy thing...

He says: “We don’t blame the farmer who grows barley if a local bar hands beer to a minor.” Fine. So why does your bill card kids in the parking lot? Facebook’s the bar, and your bill never walks inside. Grindr, the gay hookup app, endorsed the federal version. Pornhub asked the device makers for age checks built into the app store and phone too.

When the porn site and the gay hookup app are cheering for your "kid safety bill," you should pause and ask why.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

They call it the App Store Child Protection Act...

(Or whatever it’s called this week)

and the “protection” is Apple and Google holding the age data of everybody with a phone.

They say it “would give parents the final say.”

Parents don’t need a permission slip from Apple to raise their own kids.

The lawsuit they’re waving around is about ChatGPT. Your kid can open ChatGPT in Safari without ever touching an app store. So the bill doesn’t even reach the thing it’s supposedly for.

Speaking of ChatGPT, looks like it wrote their tweet too: “This isn’t just a business model. It’s child exploitation.”

Ask any teacher grading essays this year. They’ve seen that sentence a few thousand times.

And a federal judge already blocked Texas’s version.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

@juliecbarrett His analogies are backwards and nonsensical. They actually work against him not for him.

[Julie Barrett @juliecbarrett]

Idaho Senator Kevin Cook published an op-ed saying he is planning to sponsor Meta's App Store Accountability Act in the 2027 legislative session.

He seems to be under the impression the bill has something to do with "adult content graphic material" when it does not.

The App Store Accountability Act is a de facto digital ID. It will force every Idahoan to provide ID age verification just to download apps from the app stores. Not just children...everyone!! The bill also requires verified parent-child linking. That means MORE personal data to prove that you are the adult legally responsible for the child.

This nonsense about "put parents back in the driver's seat" is a blatant lie. Parents can already control app downloads on their child's device without having to surrender personal data.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

@luckyvalpal @Meta @SenFetterman Lol, no. https://t.co/JEeAUJaQaN

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Utah Should Repeal the App Store Accountability Act...

Here's why --> https://t.co/cakJt5yuUo

#AppStoreAccountabilityAct #utah

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

@Acristillo68 @PAAttorneyGen @SenFettermanPA https://t.co/JEeAUJaQaN

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Utah Should Repeal the App Store Accountability Act...

Here's why --> https://t.co/cakJt5yuUo

#AppStoreAccountabilityAct #utah

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Utah Should Repeal the App Store Accountability Act...

Here's why --> https://t.co/cakJt5yuUo

#AppStoreAccountabilityAct #utah

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Another coincidence for the pile...

In 2024, the Digital Childhood Alliance had ZERO registered lobbyists in Texas.

In spring 2025, right as the Texas version moved, it had three. Meta had 13 more of its own.

Combined reported lobbyist pay that year: $556,000 to $1.28 million. (Texas Ethics Commission, 2025 lobby registrations)

A brand-new moms' group sponsoring think tank dinners and hiring Austin lobbyists in its first spring.

Huh.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

In 2024, the "grassroots parents' coalition" (@DigiChildAllnce) behind the App Store Accountability Act had zero lobbyists in Texas.

Spring 2025, right as the bill moved: they magically got three.

Meta had 13 more.

Combined reported lobbyist pay in Texas that year: $556,000 to $1.28 million.

Bloomberg says Meta helps fund the coalition.

Huh.

Moms don't hire three Austin lobbyists in six weeks. Companies do.

The bill they bought doesn't touch what these social media companies serve your kids at 11pm. It just moves the paperwork to the device makers and hands Meta a defense: "But, the parent approved the download."

Weird how the people "protecting kids" keep sending Meta the invoice.

Source: Texas Ethics Commission, 2024 & 2025 lobby registrations

[Protecting Kids Online @PKOproject]

It's branded a "child safety" bill, but as Texas Rep .@brianeharrison explains, the App Store Accountability Act is a UK-style Digital ID, requiring every user to "show papers" to be able to download ANY app from the App Store.

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

WWJD? Read it here: https://t.co/8YIG8Hp4wL

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Hey @FocusFamily, you've been duped by the oh so crafty @Melissa_M818.

Link in 1st comment.

[Sevvy @Sevvy_707]

wtf is wrong with people? Can’t you just parent instead of pushing this on everyone else?

[Taylor Lorenz @TaylorLorenz]

People don’t realize that under these “child online safety” laws the entire internet will be censored and u will lose the right to anonymously access any apps including ones like McDonald’s, a weather app, or calculator app. None of this is about protecting children

[Western Civ Maximalist @brian_lenney]

Read it: https://t.co/zXr2rFtHML

[Western Civ Maximalist @brian_lenney]

See why the “Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act” doesn’t actually stop harms from addictive social media:

[Right to Parent @right_to_parent]

Congratulations to the AG's office. Real work, and the consumer protection theory was the right one.

Worth reading the fine print on that midnight to 6 a.m. lockout, though.

It shuts off the feed but messages keep running all night.

Nobody's ever been groomed by a scrolling feed. That happens in DMs. So the protection kicks in during the hours your kid is alone with a phone and the house is asleep, but the one feature a predator actually uses stays on.

That's the headline win. Meta's stock closed up.

[Western Civ Maximalist @brian_lenney]

Everybody's talking about this meta lawsuit as if it's a good thing. In the end, Meta got exactly what they want for pennies on the dollar and nobody had to take a single vote.

[Julie Barrett @juliecbarrett]

Meta has been extremely strategic in utilizing moms and influencers to push their agenda...along with conservative think tanks, parent organizations, and faith groups.

"Momfluencers" have actively been pushing the Instagram Teen Accounts and how great they are - Sadie Robertson Huff, among the notable names.

"Some influencers are also advocating for one of Meta's top policy priorities: legislation to require the Apple and Google app stores to handle user age verification." - this would be the App Store Accountability Act.

Most of these people probably haven't even read the legislation, don't understand what it means in practice, or just don't care because that influencer paycheck is so nice.