Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association has asked the Supreme Court of the United States for an emergency ruling to block Texas from enforcing its age verification requirements on all app stores and app store users until a Constitutional challenge to Texas’ SB2420 is fully heard. The brief notes that the Texas app store law, the “App Store Accountability Act”, violates the First Amendment because it imposes government controls over protected speech and access to lawful information through age verification and parental consent requirements. The brief argues that Justices should err on the side of the Constitution by blocking its enforcement.
Federal District Court Judge Robert Pitman blocked the App Store Accountability Act on December 23, 2025, concluding that the law likely violates the First Amendment and must not be enforced. Texas appealed that preliminary injunction and also sought to stay – or lift – the injunction.
Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to lift the injunction that prevented the Texas law from taking effect. For the first time, Texas could now force all app users to show ID before accessing the internet while a legal challenge makes it through the lower courts.
CCIA is suing the State of Texas to permanently strike SB2420, which would impose an unconstitutional, sweeping age-verification, parental consent, and compelled speech regime on both app stores and app developers. This law is not only an unjustifiable restriction of speech but also a needless mandate for users to hand over personal information to companies.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers:
“Texas’s law would force the public to document age and identity in order to access lawful information. Users should not have to provide ID to download a Bible app or the New York Times, but Texas requires just that. The First Amendment protects the rights of app stores and app developers to disseminate lawful speech to users who have an equal right to access it. Parents – not governments – should retain the ability to make decisions about their children’s use of technology.”
