The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to block a Texas law requiring app stores to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors download apps, a decision that arrives as Florida considers its own app-store rules.
The court's July 6 order, issued without comment, allowed Texas to keep enforcing its App Store Accountability Act while a legal challenge continues. The order did not decide the law's constitutionality and does not apply in Florida, but it reflects a national trend that Florida lawmakers have been pursuing on their own.
In the Florida Legislature, House Bill 931 and Senate Bill 1438, titled Online Access to Materials Harmful to Minors, would place new age restrictions at the app store and device level. The bills would require developers to assess whether their apps are likely to be used by minors, direct device manufacturers to build age verification into device activation, and require app stores to obtain verifiable parental consent before a minor downloads certain apps. Florida already has a 2024 law that bars children under 14 from holding social media accounts, a measure that remains the subject of litigation.
Texas is one of several states with an app store accountability law, along with Utah, Louisiana and Alabama. The Texas law, in effect since January 1, requires parental approval before anyone under 18 downloads an app or makes an in-app purchase, and it labels apps for four age groups.
The Texas measure was challenged by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology trade group, and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, which argue it violates the First Amendment. Arguments before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are set for early August.
