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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