The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to block a Texas law that requires app stores to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors can download apps, allowing the state to enforce the measure while a legal challenge continues.
The court's order, issued July 6 without comment and with no noted dissents, turned away requests to halt Senate Bill 2420, known as the App Store Accountability Act. The decision keeps the law in effect as the case returns to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is scheduled to hear arguments over its constitutionality in early August.
Passed in 2025, SB 2420 requires app store operators such as Apple and Google to verify the age of users in Texas and to obtain a parent's or guardian's consent before anyone under 18 can download an app or make an in-app purchase. The law also requires app developers to label whether their products are appropriate for one of four age groups: children under 13, teens 13 to 15, older teens 16 and 17, and adults 18 and older.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defended the law, called the outcome a victory for protecting children online.
The measure was challenged by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology trade group, along with Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. The groups argue the law violates the First Amendment. "People should not have to turn over personal data to access the internet any more than they should show government identification to enter a bookstore," CCIA President Matt Schruers said.
The law has moved through several stages in court. In December, a federal judge in Austin blocked it, finding it likely violated First Amendment protections. Texas appealed, and in late May the 5th Circuit allowed the state to begin enforcing the law until the appeals court rules on its merits. Monday's Supreme Court order leaves that enforcement in place.
