Supreme Court Rejects Tech Industry and Student Challenges on Texas App Store Law
In a brief order with no noted dissents, the Supreme Court has rejected emergency petitions from tech industry groups and students, allowing Texas to immediately enforce its App Store Accountability Act while the broader legal battle continues in lower courts.
The App Store Accountability Act, passed by Texas in 2025, imposes age verification and parental consent requirements on app stores and developers. Accounts belonging to people under age 18 must be linked to a parent or guardian’s account. The law mandates that every user accessing a mobile app marketplace in Texas verify their age before downloading an app.
The plaintiffs argued the law infringes upon First Amendment rights, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton maintained the state has a compelling interest in protecting minors from digital data-harvesting, privacy invasions, and unvetted content. The Supreme Court denied requests by the challengers to lift a lower court’s decision that had allowed the law to take effect while litigation continues over First Amendment violations.
The case, which involves the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, and two individual students, was granted injunctions halting the law last December after U.S. Judge Robert Pitman found it likely violates the First Amendment. The ruling was 6-3, with six conservative justices in the majority and three liberal justices dissenting.
The Texas measure reflects broader efforts by some U.S. states and other countries to regulate smartphone use by children and curb potentially harmful effects of social media. A group argued that no state has ever required its citizens to prove their age before accessing certain services, emphasizing the uniqueness of the Texas law in mandating age verification for every mobile app on every mobile phone.
The Supreme Court’s decision follows Australia’s 2025 ban on social media for children under 16, marking a significant global trend in regulating online content and protecting minors from digital platforms.