A new state law requiring app stores to age-verify users has been temporarily upheld by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after a Travis County judge blocked the measure late last year.
The law was set to take effect at the beginning of the year, but was halted in December when a federal district court judge issued an injunction on the grounds that the law violates the First Amendment.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately appealed the ruling.
Known as Texas’ App Store Accountability Act, the law requires app stores and mobile developers to verify the age of every Texas user. It further requires minors’ accounts to be linked to a parental account and to obtain parental permission for each individual download or in-app purchase.
The three-judge panel gave no explanation for their decision to stay the injunction, which allows the law to be implemented while the case proceeds.
“Texas has not only the right, but the duty, to protect children from the harms of our modern digital space,” said Paxton. “Parents deserve to know what their children are downloading and to have the ability to stop them from accessing harmful or inappropriate content.”
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman barred the law from implementation when he granted the preliminary injunction requested by the Computer & Communications Industry Association. This decision followed a December 16 hearing that was consolidated with a separate challenge brought by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas—both arguing that the mandate would censor a vast amount of lawful speech and shut minors out of the app store completely.
While the measure was working its way through the Texas House last year, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) released research showing the rise of technology use by children and the overwhelming support of parents for such a law as the App Store Accountability Act.
A poll conducted by TPPF found that 75 percent of Texas parents support “requiring app stores to get parental approval for teens to download apps.”
Although the law will now take effect, this is only temporary while the Fifth Circuit considers the case.
