Parents, Not Politicians, Should Raise Our Kids—SB 2420 and HB 4901 Get It Backwards

Originally posted to X. 

Texas families don’t need more government telling them how to parent. They need more freedom, tools, and trust. But Senate Bill 2420 and its companion House Bill 4901—misleadingly named the App Store Accountability Act—head in the exact wrong direction.

While the bill’s stated goal is to protect children online, it does so by inserting the state into decisions that should be left to families. SB 2420 would require app stores to verify users’ ages, assign minors to their parents’ accounts, and block access to apps unless parental consent is obtained. It even mandates sharing sensitive information across platforms to enforce these requirements. What’s presented as a safety measure is a sweeping government mandate that undermines parental rights, tramples privacy, and punishes innovation.

Let’s be clear: protecting kids online matters. As a father of three, I understand the desire to shield our children from harmful content and bad influences. But that doesn’t mean we hand over the reins to government bureaucrats or force businesses into the role of digital babysitter.

SB 2420 assumes that politicians know better than parents. That’s not just offensive—it’s dangerous. It takes control out of the hands of families and gives it to tech platforms acting under state orders. The bill would require app stores to determine who qualifies as a parent or guardian, decide what age is appropriate for each app, and share user data across platforms to verify compliance—all without user consent. That’s a privacy disaster waiting to happen.

Texans should be deeply concerned about what this means for digital autonomy. When the government mandates age verification and app restrictions without consent, it opens the door to surveillance, data abuse, and censorship. Once the government starts dictating what apps your child can or can’t use, how long before it extends that power to adults?

We’ve seen what happens when states try to micromanage the tech world. California’s heavy-handed regulations have led to less innovation, fewer choices, and higher compliance costs that only the biggest tech companies can afford. If Texas adopts this bill, we risk driving away startups, stifling competition, and consolidating even more power in the hands of Silicon Valley giants. Ironically, SB 2420 would hurt the very competition lawmakers say they want to promote.

SB 2420 also distorts accountability. Instead of holding app developers responsible for harmful content or features, the bill targets app stores—the platforms that distribute them. That’s like punishing bookstores instead of the authors. It’s a classic case of misaligned incentives: pushing liability upstream to avoid tackling the real issues downstream.

But perhaps most troubling is how this bill sidelines the most important players in a child’s life—parents. Every family is different. What one parent considers inappropriate, another may see as an opportunity to teach and guide. That’s the beauty of parental freedom. One-size-fits-all mandates erase those differences and enforce government-approved parenting.

This isn’t about ignoring the risks kids face online. It’s about choosing the right response. We should empower parents with better tools, not replace them with regulations. Tech companies are already responding to consumer demand by offering advanced parental controls, app filters, and usage tracking—solutions that let families decide what works best for them. That’s the free-market approach that respects both liberty and responsibility.

Lawmakers who care about protecting kids should focus on education, transparency, and innovation. They should encourage companies to compete on safety features and support digital literacy programs that help parents and kids make informed choices. But they shouldn’t centralize control in Austin and pretend that’s a substitute for real parenting.

SB 2420 may be well-intentioned, but it’s the wrong solution. It’s terrible for privacy. Bad for innovation. And worst of all, it sends the message that government—not parents—should be in charge.

Texans know better. We don’t need the state raising our kids. Let’s trust families. Let’s trust freedom.