Judge blocks Texas app store age verification law
A federal judge has blocked a Texas law requiring mobile app stores to verify users’ ages from taking effect on January 1.
In an order granting a preliminary injunction regarding Texas’ App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420), Judge Robert Pitman wrote that the law “is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or adolescent can enter and again when trying to purchase a book.” Pitman has not yet ruled on the merits of the case, but his decision to grant the preliminary injunction means he believes his defenders are unlikely to prevail in court.
Texas’ App Store Accountability Act is the first in a series of similar state laws to face a legal challenge, making the ruling particularly important as Congress considers a version of the law. The laws, versions of which have also been passed in Utah and Louisiana, aim to impose age verification standards at the app store level, making companies like Apple and Google responsible for passing signals about users’ ages to app developers to prevent users from age-inappropriate experiences. Although the format was developed and championed by parent advocates, it benefited from lobbying from Meta and other tech platforms that support the model, like Snap and X.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Apple, Google and Meta, filed a lawsuit to block the law from taking effect, saying it “imposes a broad regime of censorship on the entire universe of mobile applications.” The group says the Texas law would impose heavy burdens on teens’ ability to access speech online, forcing them and their parents to give up information in order to access various applications. A student advocacy group filed a separate suit to block the law, arguing that it unconstitutionally limits the speech to which children can be exposed. The state argued that the law was constitutional and must be respected.
The state can still appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a history of overturning internet regulatory blocks. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision and whether it plans to appeal.
“[H]Although there is broad agreement that the issue must be addressed, the Court remains bound by the rule of law. »
Pitman held that the highest level of scrutiny must be applied to evaluate the law under the First Amendment, meaning the state must prove that the law is “the least restrictive means of carrying out a compelling state interest.” The judge ruled that was not the case and would not survive even an interim review because Texas has so far failed to prove that its goals are linked to its methods.
Since Texas already has a law requiring age verification for porn sites, Pitman said that “only in the vast minority of applications would SB 2420 have constitutional application to unprotected speech not covered by other laws.” Although Pitman acknowledged the importance of protecting children online, he added, “the means to achieve that goal must be consistent with the First Amendment. However compelling the policy concerns and however widespread the consensus that the issue must be addressed, the Court remains bound by the rule of law.”
Apple has opposed Texas’ approach to app store age verification, with CEO Tim Cook going so far as to call Governor Greg Abbott to try to dissuade him from signing the law. Google also opposed this, but adopted a different app store age guarantee model recently adopted in California, which would require less data collection.
Recently, a House subcommittee on Energy and Commerce proposed two versions of app store age bills that borrow aspects of the Texas and California versions. Efforts to expand the proposal nationally alarmed Apple, with Cook meeting with committee leaders the day before the markup to discuss the bills.
As age verification proposals targeting app stores advance through states and Congress, the companies that run them also appear to be responding to the growing regulatory threat with preemptive changes. Apple, for example, announced new child safety features this year, including a way for parents to share their children’s age ranges with app developers.
