Texas can enforce its App Store Accountability Act while Big Tech challenges it in court, the Supreme Court ruled last week.
“The Supreme Court’s decision … is a major victory for families and underscores what we have known all along: Big Tech’s claims of constitutional harms were always overblown,” John Read, senior policy counsel for Digital Childhood Alliance, wrote in a press release.
“The App Store Accountability Act gives parents critical tools to protect their children online, and the Constitution recognizes a parent’s right to protect.”
Digital Childhood Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 child advocacy groups, including Focus on the Family-allied Family Policy Alliance, authored the model legislation Texas’ App Store Accountability Act (SB 2040) is based on.
The law, which Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed in May 2025, requires app stores:
- Verify the ages of their consumers.
- Obtain parental consent before minors download apps, make in-app purchases and sign terms of service contracts.
- Provide a transparent age rating system and ratings for all available apps.
Though SB 2040 allows app developers to continue rating their own apps, failure to rate an app accurately or in good faith can be prosecuted under the state’s consumer protection laws.
Texas’ App Store Accountability Act was set to take effect in January 2026. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a Big Tech trade group, challenged the law before it could be enforced.
CCIA won an early victory in U.S. District Court, when Judge Robert Pitman ruled Texas could not enforce SB 2040 while the court adjudicated the trade association’s challenge.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the District Court’s injunction in May, ruling Texas could enforce the law while the court case proceeded. The Supreme Court upheld the 5th Circuit’s ruling on July 8.
CCIA argues Texas’ App Store Accountability Act violates app store and app developers’ right to free speech. But the 5th Circuit agreed with Texas that SB 2040 has nothing to do with speech. It proposes new rules on digital purchases and markets, making it a law about commerce.
Moreover, Digital Childhood Alliance pointed out in a press release, the 5th Circuit noted, “Parents need to have the necessary information to make informed choices affecting their children’s upbringing.”
The model legislation drafted by the Alliance is meant to secure parents the transparency they need to make truly informed decisions about the content their children consume.
“App stores face little accountability for misleading age ratings, and they routinely make critical details, such as app content descriptions, hard to access,” it explains. “This makes informed consent effectively impossible.”
When it comes to keeping kids safe online, the buck stops with parents. But, right now, nothing forces app stores and developers to disclose pertinent information, like whether children can access the internet from inside an app.
Even the most conscientious parents can’t make good decisions when they don’t have all the facts. The Daily Citizen supports any legislation which enables parents to better do their jobs.
To learn more about the App Store Accountability Act, read our previous article.
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