Litigation to Protect Free Speech and Interstate Commerce
CCIA is challenging Texas SB 2420, the “App Store Accountability Act,” as an unconstitutional restriction on free speech and interstate commerce.
Summary:
SB2420 supplants parental rights and restricts lawful online content by forcing all internet users to register their age when accessing an app store from a mobile device and denying minors access to virtually all apps and in-app purchases unless their parent both consents to such access and links the minor’s account to their own. This law also puts onerous requirements on app developers, forcing them to “age-rate” their apps according to the state’s multi-tiered system. The State Attorney General will pursue violations of SB2420 under the Texas Unfair Deceptive Trade Practices Act for penalties including $50,000 per violation, consumer reimbursement, and restitution.
On December 23, 2025, Judge Robert Pitman granted our requested preliminary injunction on the grounds that SB2420 was likely unconstitutional.
Statements:
- CCIA Sues Texas to Block Unconstitutional App Store Law
- Judge Blocks Texas’s App Store Accountability Act as Unconstitutional Speech Restriction
Filings:
- CCIA v. Paxton W.D. Texas Complaint
- CCIA v. Paxton W.D. Texas Motion for Preliminary Injunction
- CCIA v. Paxton WD Tex. Order Granting Preliminary Injunction
- CCIA v. Paxton W.D. Texas Order Denying Stay
- CCIA v. Paxton Fifth Circuit Order Granting Stay
- CCIA v. Paxton Fifth Circuit CCIA Answering Brief
- CCIA v. Paxton SCOTUS Emergency Application to Vacate Stay Pending Appeal
- CCIA v. Paxton SCOTUS CCIA Reply in Support of Application
State
Texas
Timeline
October 2025
CCIA filed its Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Austin Division) lodging claims under the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and Commerce Clause.
December 2025
CCIA and SEAT argued their respective Motions for Preliminary Injunction before Judge Pitman, W.D. Tex.
December 2025
Judge Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.) grants CCIA’s request for a preliminary injunction, finding it “likely unconstitutional.” The order completely blocks SB2420 from taking effect.
January-February 2026
Texas appealed Judge Pitman’s preliminary injunction to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Texas filed a motion to stay the preliminary injunction, which would make the statute effective, and CCIA responded and opposed the stay.
May 2026
Judge Pitman denies Texas’s motion for stay. Texas renewed its motion before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted an administrative stay.
Texas filed its opening brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of its appeal from the preliminary injunction.
June 2026
The Fifth Circuit formally entered a stay of the injunction, meaning that SB 2420 could take effect.
In response CCIA filed an emergency application to the United States Supreme Court, seeking to have the stay vacated.
CCIA filed its answering brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
July 2026
The Supreme Court denied the emergency application and declined to vacate the stay.
Texas filed its reply brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.