{"id":232,"date":"2026-06-22T23:09:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2026-06-22T23:09:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:09:55","slug":"texas-asks-court-to-leave-in-place-age-verification-and-parental-consent-law-on-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanservicereview.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Texas asks court to leave in place age-verification and parental-consent law on apps"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On Monday afternoon, Texas the Supreme Court to leave in place an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that allows the state to enforce a law that imposes age-verification and parental-consent requirements on minors\u2019 access to apps and paid content within those apps. Half the states have similar age-verification requirements for minors.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court declines to hear several important cases, including on voting rights and the environment<\/a><\/p>\n

The state\u2019s solicitor general, William Peterson, emphasized that \u201cthe modern digital world is different\u201d from the physical world, and that the law is required because, in the digital world, children can access \u201cany conceivable content without parental consent or even parental knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas Legislature enacted the law at the center of the case, known as the\u00a0App Store Accountability Act or SB 2420, last year. Before the law could go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, it faced challenges in federal court in Austin, Texas, from two different sets of plaintiffs: a group known as Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, which that its members \u201cuse mobile apps to teach other kids how to get involved in policymaking,\u201d as well as two teenagers who use apps for art and journalism; and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a trade group that represents (among others) app stores and app developers.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the state from enforcing the law. But on June 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit\u00a0 Pitman\u2019s orders. It ruled that Pitman was likely wrong when he applied the most stringent constitutional test, known as strict scrutiny, to the law. \u201cAt most,\u201d the court of appeals wrote, \u201cSB2420 regulates speech that \u2018proposes a commercial transaction,\u2019 which is subject to intermediate scrutiny,\u201d a less demanding standard. That test, the court of appeals explained, requires Texas to \u201cestablish a \u2018reasonable fit\u2019 between its goal and corresponding restrictions.\u201d And Texas can do so, the court of appeals concluded: \u201cRequiring age verification, parental consent, and app-related content ratings likely directly and materially advances Texas\u2019s substantial interest in protecting children\u2019s data, safety, and privacy in a digital world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challengers last week asked the Supreme Court, on its interim docket, to reinstate Pitman\u2019s orders. The students\u00a0 that the 5th Circuit\u2019s decision \u201cwould render virtually the entire internet\u2014not to mention the distribution of every book, newspaper, magazine, movie, or record album\u2014\u2018commercial speech\u2019 the government could more readily ban, restrict, edit, or compel. That is clearly wrong.\u201d Moreover, they added, Texas already shields children from accessing adult content online; the law\u2019s stated goal of protecting them \u201cfrom \u2018accessing harmful or inappropriate content\u2019 \u2026 is not a valid government interest.\u201d And the\u00a0\u00a0that the 5th Circuit\u2019s decision subjects \u201capp stores and millions of app developers to potential liability\u201d and \u201cenormous and unrecoverable compliance costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Justices issue orders on murder-for-hire case involving social media influencer, the role of race in seizing persons, and the execution of a Texas man claiming to be intellectually disabled<\/a><\/p>\n

In on Monday, Texas echoed the 5th Circuit\u2019s contention that Pitman had applied the wrong standard to determine that SB 2420 likely violates the First Amendment, using strict scrutiny when he should have used intermediate scrutiny. SB2420, the state continued, \u201creadily survives\u201d that test \u201cbecause it serves the purpose of empowering parents to control their children\u2019s upbringing by deciding which software applications their children should access and to which contractual terms their children should agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitman\u2019s orders are also barred, Texas added, by the Supreme Court\u2019s 2025 ruling in Trump v. CASA<\/em>, holding that so-called \u201cnationwide\u201d or \u201cuniversal\u201d injunctions likely exceed a district court\u2019s power. The orders in this case, Texas stressed, \u201cbar the Attorney General from enforcing S.B. 2420 against anyone, not just the\u201d challengers, and therefore fall within the injunctions covered by CASA<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The challengers will have the opportunity to file replies to Texas\u2019 brief. Once those are submitted, the court could act on their requests at any time.<\/p>\n

Read more Court reimposes conviction of man found to have killed Etan Patz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday afternoon, Texas the Supreme Court to leave in place an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that allows the state to enforce a law that imposes age-verification and parental-consent requirements on minors\u2019 access to apps and paid content within those apps. 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