Supreme Court Lets Texas App-Store Age Verification Law Stay in Place While Challenge Continues

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to halt enforcement of a Texas law requiring app stores to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases. The ruling leaves the measure in place while a First Amendment challenge proceeds in lower courts.

The high court provided no explanation and noted no dissents. The law, signed in 2025, applies to all software applications distributed through app stores. It requires accounts for users under 18 to be linked to a parent or guardian, who must receive notice of an app's age rating and approve each download.

Texas officials argued the measure protects children from harmful online content and gives parents tools to oversee their children's digital activity. A federal district court blocked the law in December 2025, finding it likely violated the First Amendment. The U.S.

Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit lifted that injunction in May, allowing enforcement to resume. The Computer and Communications Industry Association and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas then asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing the law forces age verification for every app download.

"No State has ever required its citizens to prove their age before reading a newspaper, entering a bookstore, or even accessing the internet," the Computer and Communications Industry Association petition stated.

Texas countered that states have long regulated access to products such as alcohol and cigarettes and that the digital marketplace requires similar safeguards. The Supreme Court concluded its term last week and will begin its next term in October. The constitutional challenge to the Texas law remains pending in lower courts.