U.S. Supreme Court Denies Bid to Block Texas App Store Accountability Act

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 declined to block enforcement of the Texas App Store Accountability Act. Justice Samuel Alito issued a pair of one-sentence orders denying petitions that sought to lift a lower court decision allowing the law to proceed.

The statute requires app stores and developers to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for minors under 18 before downloads or in-app purchases. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month ruled that the law can take effect while litigation continues and suspended a December 2025 district court ruling that had declared the statute unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs include the Computer & Communications Industry Association and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the defendant. Plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that the law impermissibly limits access to content protected by the First Amendment, including news and educational material.

Attorneys for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas wrote that protecting First Amendment rights and parents’ rights to supervise their children is always in the public interest. Attorneys from Paxton’s office countered that the law protects children from dangerous modern products, noting that a child with access to an app store can download applications, agree to invasions of privacy and sale of data, and be exposed to any content without parental consent or knowledge.