MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two bills that aim to increase safety guardrails for minors using smartphones and tablets are expected to be taken up by members of the Alabama House this week in committee after passing out of the Senate last week.
Senate Bill 186 and Senate Bill 187 would require smartphones and tablets to have obscene content filters enabled automatically for minors and require app stores to request and verify a user’s age before granting unrestricted access, respectively. Both bills are carried by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville.
“It’s all about protecting children,” Chambliss said outside the Senate floor last week, shortly after both bills passed out of the chamber. SB186 passed with a vote of 28-5, and SB187, 26-6.
“There is a filter on our phones currently, and it simply requires that filter to be in the on position if the phone is enabled for a child. The second bill is an app bill for the app store, and it requires age verification before you can download certain apps.”
Under SB186, all smart devices manufactured on or after June 1 of this year would be required to have obscene content filters automatically enabled if a user indicates that they’re a minor, with manufacturers facing civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, capped at $50,000, for noncompliance. SB187 would see app store providers face civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation with no cap.
Through amendments and substitutes, both bills were modified before passing out of the Senate. Via a substitute, SB186 saw its effective date moved up by 19 months from Jan. 1 of 2027 to June 1 of this year, and excluded video game consoles from the act. Through a substitute and amendment, SB187 saw only minor alterations enacted to increase its clarity.
Utah became the first state to pass legislation that would require app stores to verify users’ ages before granting unrestricted access, legislation that was signed into law on March 26. A bill requiring smart devices to have obscene content filters automatically enabled was signed into law last year.
Chambliss said that the changes made to his bills on the Senate floor were largely to put them in line with Utah’s, as well as other states working to enact similar laws.
Both bills have seen both support and opposition from various groups. The Alabama Policy Institute has endorsed both, whereas some, such as Justin Hill, a lobbyist with the free enterprise trade association NetChoice, have previously pushed against the bills, suggesting they should target the actual producers of obscene content rather than electronic manufacturers and app store providers.
SB186 is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday in the House Committee on Commerce and Small Business, whereas SB187 has yet to be scheduled.