Key facts
- The Supreme Court has allowed Texas to enforce its app store age-verification law.
- The law requires app stores to use a commercially reasonable method to verify users' ages and restrict access for those under 18.
- A federal judge had previously blocked the law, citing First Amendment concerns.
- The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction, finding Texas had a strong chance of success on the merits.
- The Supreme Court denied emergency requests to reinstate the injunction, allowing enforcement while litigation continues.
The Supreme Court has decided not to intervene in challenges to a Texas app store law, allowing the state to enforce age-verification rules while a lawsuit continues. This decision means a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in December 2025, which had blocked the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect on January 1, 2026, will not be enforced.
The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had previously stayed the injunction on June 4, stating there was "no legitimate justification for enjoining enforcement of the entire Act." A lobby group representing Big Tech companies, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), and an advocacy group for students, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, had asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the injunction. The Supreme Court denied both requests in one-sentence orders.
The 5th Circuit's ruling indicated that Texas has an advantage, with a three-judge panel stating the district court likely erred in applying strict scrutiny to the Act. The appeals court suggested the law regulates speech proposing a commercial transaction, which is subject to intermediate scrutiny, and that it advances important governmental interests in protecting children's data, safety, and privacy. The panel also faulted the district court for issuing a universal injunction.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that Texas has a duty to protect children from harms in the digital space. The CCIA, however, called the law "a broad censorship regime on the entire universe of mobile apps" and argued that people should not have to share personal data to access the internet. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for August 4 in the 5th Circuit.