The US Supreme Court has allowed Texas to continue enforcing its App Store Accountability Act, which requires age verification and parental consent before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases, according to medianama.com. The court declined to reinstate lower court orders that had blocked the law while constitutional challenges proceed, effectively permitting Apple and Google to maintain these requirements in Texas for now.
The law's enforcement was challenged by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a youth advocacy group, and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, and others. Despite Meta being part of the CCIA challenge, the company has publicly supported app store-level age verification and parental approval in 2023 and 2026. The Supreme Court issued two brief unsigned orders without explaining its reasoning, declining to halt enforcement during ongoing appeals.
Texas argued that the legislation regulates commercial transactions rather than speech, as it governs how minors can enter agreements to download software. The state also emphasized that the law applies equally to all apps regardless of content, suggesting it should be evaluated under intermediate scrutiny. The law’s enforcement impacts major app stores, requiring them to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent, a move that affects how digital content is accessed by minors in Texas.
The Supreme Court’s decision leaves the App Store Accountability Act in effect while legal challenges continue, marking a significant moment for digital age verification policies. The next legal developments will depend on the outcomes of the ongoing appeals process related to this case.