A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas’ new App Store Accountability Act just days before it was set to take effect, ruling that the law likely violates the First Amendment and cannot be enforced while litigation continues.
A technology trade group and student plaintiffs have argued that the statewide age‑verification mandate would censor vast amounts of lawful speech and shut many minors out of app stores altogether.
In an order released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted the Computer & Communications Industry Association’s motion for a preliminary injunction, barring Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing Senate Bill 2420 statewide.
The ruling comes after a December 16 hearing that was consolidated with a separate challenge brought by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) which focuses on how the law burdens minors rather than app companies.
Pitman’s order means the App Store Accountability Act—scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026—will not roll out as planned while the case proceeds.
SB 2420 mandates app stores and mobile developers verify the age of every Texas user. It also requires parental account linkage for all minors and for app stores to obtain parental consent for each individual app download or in‑app purchase, backed by civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
Judge Pitman said the regime “restricts access to a vast universe of speech” and compared it 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.”
The court held that SB 2420 is a content‑based speech regulation subject to strict scrutiny, because it exempts certain apps (like government or testing apps) based on their subject matter and is explicitly aimed at shielding minors from content the state deems harmful.
Under that standard, Pitman concluded Texas has not shown a compelling interest broad enough to justify sweeping in everything from news apps to fitness and Bible apps, nor that age‑screening everyone in Texas and requiring one‑by‑one parental approvals is the least restrictive means available.
The judge also found key parts of SB 2420 unconstitutionally vague, particularly provisions that:
- Require developers to assign age ratings for every app and in‑app feature without clear standards, while threatening liability for “knowingly misrepresenting” a rating.
- Force apps to send fresh notices and revoke minors’ access whenever content, “functionality,” or “user experience” changes “materially,” terms the court said are undefined and invite arbitrary enforcement.
Pitman also noted that Texas already has a separate, narrower age‑verification law for pornography websites that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, highlighting SB 2420’s overbreadth by comparison.
After concluding that SB 2420 fails strict scrutiny and would also flunk intermediate scrutiny, Pitman held that the statute cannot be salvaged by severing individual provisions, because the age‑rating, age‑verification, and parental‑consent pieces are “connected in subject matter” and designed to operate together.
Pitman therefore facially enjoined the entire law, finding that its unconstitutional applications “substantially outweigh” any valid ones and that allowing it to take effect would cause irreparable harm to First Amendment rights.
The attorney general is expected to appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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