Children and youth

Supreme Court Declines to Block Texas App Store Law

Is this a constitutional disaster or a necessary safeguard for children?

Published 5 days ago

Supreme Court Declines to Block Texas App Store Law

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Above: Students with cell phones during a protest in Houston, Texas on Oct. 26, 2023. Image credit: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images

The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

Age verification mandates at the app store level are a constitutional disaster waiting to happen. Forcing everyone to show ID before downloading a newspaper or streaming app is no different from stationing a guard at a bookstore entrance — it burdens protected speech for all adults, not just minors. Parental controls like Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link already exist, making sweeping verification laws unnecessary and legally indefensible.

Techlore on X Chamber of Progress

Pro-establishment narrative

App stores are marketplaces, and knowing who your customers are before completing a sale is basic accountability. Texas's App Store Accountability Act doesn't ban a single app — it simply requires parental approval before minors download content, mirroring age-verification standards already applied at convenience stores. With 80% of Texas parents backing the law and 93% of the state House voting yes, dismissing this as a First Amendment crisis ignores what families actually want.

Heritage Foundation on X Fort Worth Star-Telegram