WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to put a stop to a Texas law that forces app stores and developers to verify the ages of mobile device users, requiring parental approval before anyone under 18 can download apps or make in-app purchases.
The justices turned down requests from those challenging the law to reverse a lower court ruling that had allowed the measure to go into effect while the legal fight over its constitutionality plays out. The challengers argued the law runs afoul of the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
The lawsuit was brought by the Computer & Communications Industry Association — a group whose membership includes major app store operators such as Apple and Google — along with a student coalition called Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and two individual students. They went to court seeking to prevent the Texas law from being enforced.
This case marks yet another free speech showdown at the nation’s highest court involving Texas efforts to shield children from online content. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld a separate Texas law requiring age verification on adult websites. That decision came down 6-3, with the court’s six conservative justices forming the majority and the three liberal justices dissenting.
Texas enacted its App Store Accountability Act in 2025. Under the law, accounts for users younger than 18 must be connected to a parent or guardian’s account. Before a minor can download any app, the parent or guardian must be notified of the app’s age rating and must give their approval. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the measure into law.
The legislation is part of a growing movement among U.S. states and other nations to place limits on children’s smartphone use and reduce the potential harms of social media. Australia made history in 2025 by becoming the first country to outright ban social media access for children under the age of 16.
U.S. Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas had previously blocked the law last December, concluding it likely violates the First Amendment. In his ruling, Pitman compared the law’s requirements to an extreme bookstore policy.
“The act 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 teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” Pitman wrote.
However, on June 4, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed Pitman’s ruling on hold, allowing the law to take effect. The appeals court stated that “Texas has a substantial, if not compelling, interest in protecting children, and parents need to have the necessary information to make informed choices affecting their children’s upbringing.”
In urging the Supreme Court to step in and block the 5th Circuit’s decision, the Computer & Communications Industry Association argued the Texas law unlawfully requires app stores to act as gatekeepers over a massive amount of online speech.
“No state has ever required its citizens to prove their age before reading a newspaper, entering a bookstore, or even accessing the internet,” the group stated in its court filing, adding that the Texas law “does exactly that — for every mobile app on every mobile phone.”
