Meta is working to convince the Canadian government to introduce new laws that would make age verification mandatory at the app store level. The company has been lobbying Ottawa for months and says it has received positive feedback from officials drafting online safety legislation.
To support its push, Meta paid Counsel Public Affairs to poll Canadians on what kinds of digital safety measures they want for teens.
The poll found that 83 percent of parents favor requiring app stores to confirm users’ ages before app downloads.
Meta highlighted those results, saying “the Counsel data clearly indicates that parents are seeking consistent, age-appropriate standards that better protect teens and support parents online. And the most effective way to understand this is by obtaining parental approval and verifying age on the app store.”
Rachel Curran, Meta Canada’s director of public policy, described the idea as “by far the most effective, privacy-protective, efficient way to determine a user’s age.”
That phrase may sound privacy-conscious, but in practice, the plan would consolidate control over personal data inside a small circle of corporations such as Meta, Apple, and Google, while forcing users to identify themselves to access basic online services.
Google has criticized Meta’s proposal, calling it an attempt to avoid direct responsibility. “Time and time again, all over the world, you’ve seen them push forward proposals that would have app stores change their practices and do something new without any change by Meta,” said Kareem Ghanem, Google’s senior director of government affairs.
Behind these corporate disputes lies a much bigger question: should anyone be required to verify their identity in order to use the internet?
Embedding age checks at the operating system or app store level might sound simple, but it comes with profound consequences. Once the ability to install or use software depends on a verified identity, anonymity and therefore freedom of expression start to disappear.
Putting verification inside the operating system could slightly reduce redundant data collection, yet it also creates a powerful central switch that determines who can participate online.
A system-level age flag becomes another tracking mechanism tied directly to a user’s device, one that companies can link to behavioral data already gathered from browsing, shopping, and messaging.
Open and independent technology would be most at risk.
Community-driven projects like Linux distributions, open-source browsers, and privacy-respecting tools often avoid handling identity data precisely because it endangers users and creates liability.
If age verification becomes embedded at the OS level, these developers could be pushed toward government-linked ID systems simply to stay compatible. The choice would be stark: integrate surveillance or disappear.
