The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to block a Texas law requiring app stores to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors download apps, a decision that lands as California prepares to enforce its own approach to age checks online.
The court's July 6 order, issued without comment, allowed Texas to keep enforcing Senate Bill 2420 while a legal challenge continues. It did not rule on whether the law is constitutional, and it does not change the rules in California. But it arrives amid a wave of state age-verification laws that will reach Californians through the app and device makers that operate nationwide.
California took a different path from Texas. Rather than placing the duty on app stores, the state's Digital Age Assurance Act, Assembly Bill 1043, directs operating system providers such as Apple and Google to determine a user's age range and share it with app developers. Signed into law in October 2025, AB 1043 is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027.
Texas is one of several states to pass an App Store Accountability Act. Utah, Louisiana and Alabama have enacted their own versions, each requiring app stores to verify ages and secure parental consent for minors, with different effective dates. The Texas measure, which took effect January 1, requires parental approval before anyone under 18 downloads an app or makes an in-app purchase.
The Texas law was challenged by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology trade group, along with Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. The groups argue it violates the First Amendment. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments over the law's constitutionality in early August.