The House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to vote today on a bill sponsored by Michigan Rep. John James called the App Store Accountability Act, which would require mobile phone app stores run by companies like Apple and Google to collect government IDs from kids and adults before users can download everyday apps.

We think this is a bad idea.

Nobody wants kids to access inappropriate material online.  But who decides what is inappropriate?

The government? Or parents, who have sophisticated parental controls available across all phone and computer platforms.

It also doesn’t make sense because the App Stores aren’t chokepoints. Kids who get blocked by the app stores can easily hop onto the same inappropriate sites through browsers, gaming consoles, or smart TVs if their parents are not paying attention. Should the government go after all of those platforms next?

We know that this is a controversial topic, so if you disagree with us, we’d love to hear from you.