# Utah SB-142 & Texas ASAA — Legislative and Lobbying Analysis **Research Date:** 2026-03-12 **Data Sources:** Utah Legislature (le.utah.gov), Texas Legislature, CNN, Al Jazeera, Insurance Journal, R Street Institute, NetChoice, ACT | The App Association --- ## Executive Summary Utah SB-142 was the **first state App Store Accountability Act**, signed March 26, 2025. Texas followed in May 2025, and Louisiana in June 2025. Meta lobbied **in support** of all three bills, deploying lobbyists in 45 states. DCA's Melissa McKay was integral to Utah's passage. Opposition came from NetChoice, R Street Institute, Chamber of Progress, CCIA, and ACT | The App Association. A federal judge has since **paused Texas's law**. Meta's all-time lobbying record of **$26.29M in 2025** and deployment of **86+ lobbyists** underscores the scale of this campaign. --- ## 1. Utah SB-142 — App Store Accountability Act ### Bill Details | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | **Bill** | SB-142 | | **Title** | App Store Accountability Act | | **Sponsor** | Senator Todd Weiler | | **Committee** | Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology | | **Committee Vote** | Unanimous favorable recommendation | | **Hearing Date** | January 28, 2025 | | **Signed** | March 26, 2025 (first in nation) | | **Governor** | Spencer Cox | ### Committee Hearing — Testimony **Duration:** Over 2 hours of public comment and debate **In Support:** - **Melissa McKay** (DCA Chair) — "Trillion-dollar companies should not be able to broker underage children to other billion-dollar companies without parental oversight" - **Senator Todd Weiler** — bill sponsor - Various parent advocates **In Opposition:** - **Steven Greenhut** — Western Region Director, R Street Institute (testified Jan 28, 2025) - **Bartlett Cleland** — NetChoice (written testimony) - Various tech industry representatives ### Key Testimony Quotes McKay: "It's so important that parents understand which apps their kids are downloading and that they have full disclosures about what those apps do and what they are rated." McKay: "If the bill were signed into law, it would address the 'exploitative parts' of the mobile device app stores (Google and Apple)" — noting app stores currently treat children older than 12 as consenting legal adults. ### DCA Involvement in Utah - McKay is an American Fork, Utah resident — provided "local mother" narrative - DCA issued official statement praising passage - Coalition of 60+ advocacy organizations supported the bill - Senator Mike Lee endorsed and reintroduced at federal level --- ## 2. Texas App Store Accountability Act ### Bill Details | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | **Bill** | SB 2420 (or equivalent) | | **Status** | Signed by Governor Greg Abbott, May 2025 | | **Effective Date** | January 1, 2026 | | **Key Requirement** | App stores must verify user ages and require parental consent for users under 18 | ### Meta's Texas Lobbying - Meta **lobbied in support** of the Texas bill - Part of Meta's strategy to shift age verification burden to Apple and Google - Per ACT | The App Association: Meta "bankrolled a wildly expensive lobbying campaign to enact ASAA and its state-level analogs" ### Legal Challenge - **NetChoice** filed lawsuit to block Texas law - A **federal judge paused the Texas law** in December 2025 (per Politico Pro) - Challenge based on First Amendment and privacy grounds --- ## 3. Meta's National Lobbying Campaign ### Scale (2025) | Metric | Value | |--------|-------| | Total lobbying spend | **$26.29 million** (2025, all-time record) | | Number of lobbyists | **86+** (up from 65 in 2024) | | States with hired lobbyists | **45 of 50** | | Louisiana lobbyists for HB-570 | **12** | ### State-Level ASAA Campaign DCA-backed ASAA bills introduced in approximately **20 states**, including: - **Utah** — SB-142, signed March 2025 ✓ - **Louisiana** — HB-570, signed June 2025 ✓ - **Texas** — signed May 2025 ✓ (paused by judge Dec 2025) - **Kansas** — under consideration March 2026 - **South Carolina** — next target - **Ohio** — next target ### Federal Bill - **App Store Accountability Act** — introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK), May 2025 - DCA press release: "100+ Child Advocates Praise Introduction of App Store Accountability Act as National Momentum Grows" --- ## 4. Opposition Organizations and Arguments ### NetChoice - Trade association of internet businesses - Filed written testimony against Utah SB-142 - Filed lawsuit blocking Texas law - Argument: Bills violate First Amendment rights, create privacy risks ### R Street Institute - Steven Greenhut testified against Utah SB-142 on Jan 28, 2025 - Arguments: Privacy and security risks of age verification systems ### Chamber of Progress - Filed opposition letter against LA HB-570 - Argument: App store age verification is technically flawed and shifts responsibility ### CCIA (Computer & Communications Industry Association) - Urged caution on Louisiana HB-570 - Argued bill puts online privacy at risk ### ACT | The App Association - Published detailed analysis: "Into the Metaverse: The Money and Motivations Behind Meta's App Store Gambit" (May 23, 2025) - Called Meta's campaign "bankrolled" and "wildly expensive" - Published follow-up: "Meta Takes its Texas Rodeo Global" (July 11, 2025) --- ## 5. Texas Ethics Commission — Meta Lobbying While specific Texas Ethics Commission filings were not directly accessible, the following is established: - Meta has hired lobbyists in Texas (part of 45-state campaign) - Texas ASAA was signed into law, confirming successful lobbying - The bill faced legal challenge from tech industry groups - Meta's strategy in Texas mirrors Utah and Louisiana: support bills that target app stores, not social media platforms --- ## 6. Key Strategic Insights ### App Store vs. Social Media Framing All three bills (UT, TX, LA) target **app store operators** (Apple, Google), not **content platforms** (Meta). This serves Meta's interest by: 1. Placing compliance burden on competitors 2. Preserving Meta's ability to serve algorithmic content to verified users 3. Positioning Meta as a "child safety advocate" rather than a regulatory target ### Conservative Coalition Strategy The DCA coalition (Heritage Foundation, NCOSE, Moms for Liberty) provides: - Bipartisan legislative support (Republican-led states first) - "Grassroots" appearance through parent activism - Credibility with conservative legislatures - Shield against accusations of Big Tech astroturfing ### Legal Vulnerability Texas's judicial pause signals potential constitutional challenges to all three laws, which could ultimately benefit Meta by: - Creating uncertainty that delays Apple/Google compliance - Maintaining the status quo where no entity performs robust age verification - Providing ongoing advocacy opportunity for DCA (and continued Meta funding justification) --- ## Sources - Utah SB-142: https://le.utah.gov/~2025/bills/static/SB0142.html - R Street Testimony: https://www.rstreet.org/outreach/testimony-in-opposition-to-utah-senate-bill-142-app-store-accountability-act/ - NetChoice Testimony: https://netchoice.org/netchoice-testimony-in-opposition-to-utah-sb-142/ - ACT Article: https://actonline.org/2025/05/23/into-the-metaverse-the-money-and-motivations-behind-metas-app-store-gambit/ - Insurance Journal: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm - CNN Texas: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/tech/texas-apple-google-app-store-age-verification-law - Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/5/27/texas-to-require-age-verification-for-app-purchases - Deseret News: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/ - DCA Utah Statement: https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/statement-utah-governor-cox-signs-app-store-accountability-into-law/ - DCA Journey Article: https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/journey-to-protecting-children-in-digital-spaces-how-utah-became-a-model-for-app-store-accountability/ - Meta Lobbying Record: https://domepolitics.com/2026/02/meta-breaks-all-time-lobbying-record-as-georgia-lawmakers-consider-online-safety-bills/