Policy & Regulation
Apple pauses Texas App Store changes after court blocks law
A federal judge blocked Texas’s age-verification law, leading Apple to pause its planned App Store changes in the state while the legal battle continues.
On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the state of Texas from implementing a new age-verification law for app stores. Following the court’s decision, Apple announced that it will pause the plans it had previously announced for the state in October, as the company continues to monitor the ongoing legal process. The blocked legislation, known as SB 2420 or the App Store Accountability Act, would have required app store operators, including Apple and Google, to verify user ages. Under the law, these platforms would also have been required to obtain parental consent for any users under the age of 18 before they could download apps or make purchases. The enforcement of the law was set to take effect in January, but the federal judge blocked the measure, citing First Amendment concerns.
The ruling represents a setback for Texas lawmakers, who have stated that the legal fight will continue. According to a report from Reuters, the Texas attorney general’s office plans to appeal the decision. Apple had previously objected to the App Store Accountability Act, alongside similar laws arriving next year in Utah and Louisiana, on the grounds of user privacy rather than children’s safety.
Apple expressed concern that the law’s requirements would compromise user privacy by forcing platforms to collect sensitive data. In a developer announcement, the company explained its position: “While we share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores.”
On Thursday, Apple announced that its other developer tools for complying with new age-assurance laws will remain available for testing. The company confirmed that its Declared Age Range API continues to function and remains available worldwide across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26.
Why it matters
This ruling highlights the ongoing friction between state-level digital safety legislation and the privacy-centric design choices of global tech platforms, setting a precedent for similar laws in other states.