A federal judge halts SB 2420 enforcement over First Amendment concerns, leading Apple to freeze new parental consent rules for underage users in Texas.
Legal Ruling Halts Age-Gating Law, Apple Hits Pause
Apple is suspending its planned App Store policy changes in Texas after a federal judge blocked the state’s controversial SB 2420—a law that would have required age verification and parental consent for anyone under 18 downloading or purchasing apps.
- The law, known as the App Store Accountability Act, was set to go into effect in January 2026.
- Apple had prepared new requirements specifically for Texas, including mandatory Family Sharing enrollment and parental control APIs for underage users.
- Following the ruling, Apple said it will pause rollout in Texas while monitoring the ongoing legal process.
“We share the goal of strengthening kids’ online safety, but this law raises serious privacy concerns,” Apple previously stated.
SB 2420: Privacy vs. Child Safety?
The now-paused Texas law would have forced Apple, Google, and other app store operators to:
- Verify users’ ages for all app downloads or in-app purchases.
- Obtain parental consent for minors.
- Share age data with developers, raising major privacy red flags for Apple.
A federal judge sided with tech companies, citing First Amendment issues and the unconstitutionality of sweeping content gatekeeping based on age.
- Texas officials say they plan to appeal the ruling.
- Apple, Google, and others have warned that such laws may over-collect personal data, even for innocuous apps like weather or sports.
This ruling comes amid a broader wave of age-assurance legislation across the U.S., including pending laws in Utah and Louisiana.
Apple’s Developer Tools Stay—But Enforcement Freezes
Despite pausing rollout, Apple will continue offering its developer tools for age assurance, allowing developers to:
- Use the Declared Age Range API to assign age brackets to users.
- Trigger parental consent requests via the Significant Change API (under PermissionKit).
- Assign new age rating types using StoreKit.
- Receive updates via App Store Server Notifications.
These APIs are designed to help developers comply with age-specific regulations globally, and remain available for testing across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26+.
Apple emphasized its global compliance framework is still moving forward, even as the Texas rollout is paused.
Bigger Picture: Tech Giants Push Back on Patchwork Laws
Apple has opposed SB 2420 and similar state-level efforts—not because it disagrees with the spirit of child protection, but because these laws:
- Force broad data collection, even from adults or for non-sensitive apps.
- Risk fragmenting the App Store experience across states.
- Place platform providers in the role of government censors or digital gatekeepers.
The ruling signals courts are becoming more skeptical of state laws that try to regulate online content or platforms at scale, especially when they risk overreach or constitutional violations.
