Americans today live, learn, and communicate online. Still, many of us are increasingly concerned about matters such as children’s screen time and online safety, addictive algorithms, and invasive data collection. These are real concerns, and they deserve serious, solutions-oriented policymaking. 

In Congress, Republicans have introduced a flurry of bills to protect consumers, especially children and teenagers, online. For example, the Kids’ Online Safety Act (KOSA) would protect minors from online dangers, including harmful content and predatory behavior, and hold Big Tech companies accountable for designing and operating their platforms. While parents overwhelmingly support these kinds of regulations on content providers, two bills introduced shortly after KOSA, congresswoman Kat Cammack’s App Store Freedom Act and congressman John James’ App Store Accountability Act, pull in opposite directions and would ironically make online spaces more dangerous.

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Cammack’s App Store Freedom Act threatens to break the current app store ecosystem by mandating “sideloading.” Sideloading could force consumers to download risky apps from the internet or their own potentially unsafe and insecure app stores. The bill also threatens to force app stores to share private consumer data with third parties, giving unvetted companies access to consumers’ most sensitive information, including banking details and Social Security numbers. This would undercut the built-in privacy protections, security screening, and transparent policies that app stores currently provide at a time when cybersecurity risks and concerns about data privacy are at an all-time high. 

On the other side, James’s App Store Accountability Act claims to protect children from bad actors online. This includes large social media companies like Facebook that push addictive content onto children, as well as video game makers and dating apps that have been fined for shady data collection practices. However, the App Store Accountability Act has a critical flaw. It makes app stores the point of barrier for accessing content online. This ignores the reality that children, who are barred from downloading an app from the app store, could still access the same platform through a web browser. 

These issues are significant enough. However, when combined, the App Store Accountability Act and the App Store Freedom Act create conflicting mandates that are impossible to reconcile. One bill demands that app stores remove safeguards that prevent bad actors from harming consumers. The other calls for tighter controls and mandates that app stores stand as guardians at the gate to protect Americans. 

More importantly, neither bill addresses the issues Americans want lawmakers to solve. Consumers want to feel safer online. Fundamentally, consumers want the experience of the platforms they use to change, and lawmakers should focus on reining in the harmful behavior of dangerous apps, not app stores. Legislation like KOSA would address that core problem.

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The bill would stop platforms, like Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Instagram, and other companies that provide online services, from Fortnite-maker Epic Games to dating platform conglomerate Match Group, from exploiting users’ data, manipulating their attention, and exposing users to harmful content. The bill would regulate data collection, addictive algorithms, and other features that Americans repeatedly report concern about. This solution would hold bad actors accountable, rather than burdening the services that many families already rely on for safety and security.

Congress should reject ineffective legislation that puts consumers in greater danger than they already are. As regulators consider tech regulations, Washington leaders should focus on addressing the digital harms at their source. 

Andrew Gutmann is a leading national voice for parents and a former U.S. congressional candidate.