Federal judge halts Texas App Store age verification law ahead of January deadline

A federal judge in Texas has blocked the enforcement of a state law that would have required app marketplaces to verify users’ ages before allowing app downloads or access to paid in-app content, temporarily stopping a major regulatory shift for platforms such as Apple’s App Store.

The Texas App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420) was scheduled to take effect in early 2026 and would have made app store operators responsible for confirming whether users are minors. Under the law, accounts belonging to users under 18 would have faced additional requirements, including mandatory parental oversight and new restrictions tied to Family Sharing-style controls.

On December 23, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while litigation continues. In his ruling, Pitman said the measure is “more likely than not unconstitutional,” finding that it likely violates the First Amendment. He compared the statute to requiring bookstores to check the age of every customer before entry and to seek parental consent for minors at multiple stages of access and purchase.

The injunction followed a lawsuit brought by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Apple, Google, and other companies that operate large app marketplaces. The trade group argued that the law would impose sweeping compliance obligations and force the collection of sensitive personal data from all users, regardless of the type of app being accessed.

Apple has consistently opposed SB 2420, stating that while it supports efforts to improve child safety online, the Texas approach would undermine user privacy by mandating age verification for every app interaction. Earlier this month, Apple executives and privacy leaders raised similar concerns with federal lawmakers in Washington.

Following the court’s decision, Apple said it will pause its previously announced plans to implement Texas-specific compliance changes and will monitor the ongoing legal process. The company had already introduced a set of APIs and tools intended to help developers prepare for SB 2420, including the Declared Age Range API, updates under PermissionKit, new age rating properties in StoreKit, and expanded App Store Server Notifications.

Apple said those tools will remain available for sandbox testing and can still be used to support compliance with similar laws set to take effect in Utah and Louisiana in 2026. The Declared Age Range API will also continue to be available globally on the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

While the injunction prevents Texas from enforcing SB 2420 for now, the case is not resolved. The state is expected to appeal the decision, potentially sending the dispute to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court will next consider whether the law is unconstitutional on its face, a finding that could result in it being struck down entirely.