Supreme Court allows Texas to enforce age verification law for app stores

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Texas, allowing the state to enforce the App Store Accountability Act. The law mandates that app stores like Apple’s App Store and Google Play use a “commercially reasonable method of verification” to determine users’ ages and impose restrictions on those under 18.

Apple and Google announced plans to comply with the law last year but warned it could harm user privacy. The law was challenged in court, and a district court initially blocked it, ruling that it was content-based and subject to strict scrutiny. However, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, finding that the law regulates commercial transactions and thus faces only intermediate scrutiny. The appeals court stated that requiring age verification, parental consent, and content ratings directly advances Texas’s substantial interest in protecting children’s data, safety, and privacy in a digital world.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling, saying the state has a duty to protect children from harm in the digital space. The Supreme Court’s decision allows the law to be enforced while legal proceedings continue.