The Texas Supreme Court just upheld the 2025 App Store Accountability Act, a law that requires app stores to verify users’ ages. Multiple organizations sued the state, arguing that the law violates children’s freedom of speech, but the Supreme Court has allowed the law to take effect.
The ruling does not say whether the law is constitutional — rather, it means officials can enforce the law while lawsuits make their way through the lower courts.
So, what does the App Store Accountability Act really say? And what apps are impacted?
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The App Store Accountability Act
In broad terms, the law states that before someone can download an app in Texas, Apple or Google (depending on where the app is downloaded) must verify their age. And that verification can’t come just by asking for a birthday. The app stores must use a method that reasonably verifies age.
If the person is under 18, the app store must obtain permission from a parent before the child can download the app or make in-app purchases. This type of parental control is already commonplace.
The law doesn’t target specific apps or app genres; rather, it applies broadly to app stores as a whole. However, much of the controversy surrounding the law stems from which apps kids and teens are now restricted from using.
What apps does the law impact?
Because the law doesn’t target specific apps, it prevents kids and teens from accessing a wide variety of apps without parental permission, including:
- Social media apps.
- Library apps like Libby.
- Reading apps like Kindle and Audible.
- News apps.
- Common utility apps.
- Health and fitness apps.
- Weather apps.
- Calculator and other educational apps.
- Banking apps.
Apps that come pre-installed on phones and other devices generally would not trigger the law’s download requirement because users are not downloading them through an app store.
The Texas law also includes specific exceptions for emergency service apps. However, it’s only for those that provide direct access to services like 911 and crisis hotlines.
Why is this a law in Texas? And do other states have similar laws?
In defending the law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office argued in court that it protects children from “dangerous modern products.”
“A child with access to an app store and a mobile device (such as a tablet or smartphone) can potentially download any number of software applications, potentially agreeing to invasions of the child’s privacy and sale of the child’s data and be exposed to any conceivable content without parental consent or even parental knowledge,” his office wrote.
The law, different from social media bans going into effect across the globe, has the same primary goal: to protect kids from harmful and inappropriate content.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs in lawsuits against the law say it limits access to content protected by the First Amendment.
Utah, Louisiana and Alabama have all adopted similar laws requiring app stores to verify users’ ages before they can download apps. While the states differ on enforcement and implementation, the core law is largely the same.
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