Students And Big Tech Companies Fight Texas Age Checks

A Texas law that would require app stores to verify the age of every user before they download an app or make a purchase within one is being challenged in two federal lawsuits filed by a student-focused advocacy group and a large technology trade association whose members include Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon.

Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, or SEAT, and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed separate lawsuits to try to prevent the Texas App Store Accountability Act from becoming law. The measure unlawfully reduces access to lawful content and imposes broad gatekeeping that the First Amendment does not permit, both suits argue.

What the Texas Age Verification Law Would Do and Require

The law, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott in May, requires app stores to confirm the age of every user in Texas before they download or buy anything. If a user is under 18, parental consent would have to be obtained — making the optional filtering currently available mandatory for all transactions by minors.

The mandate far exceeds what platform tools can currently do. Apple’s App Store and Google Play both have comprehensive parental approvals in place, but whether or not to use them is up to the family. Using the Texas framework, adults also would have to pass an age gate, probably by providing sensitive data (like a government ID) or passing a third-party check.

The state has privately been warned by industry officials that blanket verification could degrade user experience and create new risks. Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly expressed his worries to the governor’s office during the bill’s passage.

Who Is Suing in Texas and Why the Lawsuits Were Filed

SEAT represents Texas students who argue the law would require teens to seek parental permission before accessing legal materials and digital resources, thus chilling speech.

The constitutional wheel spun full circle in late 2017 when the company filed a federal suit of its own against Morrisey; City Pages had won all along with a defense of their rights under the First Amendment and the Constitution upholding law.

The group — whose members include leading platforms, device makers and app marketplaces — argues the law prohibits app stores from offering lawful content; bars users from viewing it; forces developers to describe and gate their apps according to state mandates. The group is seeking a court order to block enforcement while it argues that the statute is unconstitutional.

Privacy And Pragmatic Risks Over Age Checks

Age verification usually involves sensitive data: driver’s licenses, biometric checks, credit databases or third-party verification services. Privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have cautioned that if ID checks are widened to cover basic digital services it will increase the risk of data breaches and theft of identity, and also threaten to inadvertently suspend adults who are unable or unwilling to share documents online.

For app stores, applying state-specific validation involves a complex set of geofencing and account logic. People who travel, college students with two addresses and families who share devices may get prompted for verification more than they like. Developers could expect to incur higher support costs, as purchases would fall through due to mismatched IDs or kids’ consent not being obtained in time, limiting downloads, ratings and revenue.

The Legal Intent And First Amendment Tests at Issue

Courts have a long history of expressing concern about broader youth access controls that burden speech. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a California law that prohibited minors from buying violent video games, because it said that minors do have speech rights and content-based restrictions are subject to strict scrutiny. Recent federal court orders have barred or paused provisions of social media age-verification or consent laws in Arkansas, California and Ohio while those states defend their statutes.

Our expectation is that Texas will claim the law is simply a child safety regulation ostensibly addressing a compelling interest. Critics say that is hardly a narrow approach: it effectively invites all programmers and every user into its orbit while turning lawful access into the exception, conditioned on identity disclosures or parental permission. That breadth could be pivotal as judges weigh whether less restrictive alternatives — like outfitting device-level controls and education improvements — would do the job.

What This Means For Texas Users And Developers

If the law takes effect, app stores would have to create flows specific to Texas and verify ages prior to any install or purchase. That might be scanning IDs, cross-referencing billing information or employing verification vendors. Adults without immediate documentation risk being locked out of routine updates or free downloads; minors would notice new parental approval screens even when trying to acquire zero-cost apps.

Small developers might have to contend with additional compliance guidance, as well as the possibility of changes to app descriptions and delays in approvals as stores adjust their review policies. These frictions frequently slow conversion rates and encourage customers to abandon. According to Pew Research Center, roughly 95 percent of American teenagers have a smartphone, so the proposal would affect millions of young Texans; Census data shows that Texas is home to more than seven million residents under 18.

What Happens Next in the Texas App Store Litigation

Both plaintiffs are requesting preliminary injunctions to prevent enforcement pending the litigation. Any trial-court decision can be fast-tracked to the Fifth Circuit, in turn setting up a significant appellate battle over the edges of age verification, privacy and digital speech. In the meantime, platforms and developers are pursuing contingency plans, but most are waiting for courts to settle whether Texas may demand identity checks at the door of app stores.