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.
In a related development, Android 16 has introduced a hidden “Supervision” page in Settings that aims to simplify web content filtering for parents. This new page appears to integrate with Google Family Link, allowing users to enable device supervision and block explicit websites and search results.
The “Supervision” page, which is not yet visible in the latest Android 16 Beta 4 release, features a “use device supervision” toggle that is disabled by default and a “web content filters” item that remains grayed out unless device supervision is enabled. To activate device supervision, users must enter a new PIN for the supervised account.
By default, the system allows all websites and search results, but parents can change these settings to block explicit sites in Chrome and explicit images, text, and links in Search. While these content filters won’t block all explicit content, they should effectively hide most inappropriate material on the web.
Google Family Link, which allows parents to create managed Google Accounts for their children, already has explicit content filters enabled in Chrome and Google Search. The new “Supervision” page hints at future “content restrictions & other limits,” suggesting that Google may add more parental control features later.
As technology continues to evolve, the need for effective parental control measures becomes increasingly important. Both the legislative efforts in Alabama and the new features in Android 16 reflect a growing recognition of this need, as parents seek to protect their children from inappropriate online content.
With the Alabama bills and Android's new features, there is a clear trend towards enhancing child safety in the digital age. As these measures are implemented, they will likely serve as a model for other states and tech companies aiming to address similar concerns.
In conclusion, the combined efforts of lawmakers and tech companies highlight a proactive approach to safeguarding minors in an increasingly digital world. The outcome of Alabama's legislative process and the rollout of Android 16's parental controls will be closely watched as they set the stage for future developments in child safety online.
