A federal court has granted the Computer & Communication Industry Association’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Texas Senate Bill 2420, the App Store Accountability Act. This injunction will prevent the enforcement of this law against any entity pending a final decision on the merits of the case.
This bill establishes age verification requirements and mandates parental consent before a minor is allowed to download or make purchases within apps.
The law was set to take effect on January 1, 2026.
Judge Robert Pitman agreed with arguments that the law likely violates the First Amendment by being vague, overly broad and a restraint of the protected speech of both app stores and app developers, according to a press release from CCIA.
In October, CCIA sued the State of Texas over SB 2420, which would impose age-verification and parental consent both app stores and app developers in violation of the United States Constitution, according to the CCIA.
“This Order stops the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect in order to preserve the First Amendment rights of app stores, app developers, parents, and younger internet users,” said Stephanie Joyce, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, who is the Director of CCIA’s Litigation Center. “It also protects parents’ inviolate right to use their own judgment in safeguarding their children online using the myriad tools our members provide,” Joyce said. McKinney Republican Senator Angela Paxton, the who authored the bill, claims that the law will prevail.
“We built this bill to equip parents with common sense tools to protect their kids AND to survive court challenges by those who may have lesser priorities,” she said in a written statement.
CCIA is an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms. For more than 50 years, CCIA has promoted open markets, open systems, and open networks. CCIA members employ more than 1.6 million workers, invest more than $100 billion in research and development, and contribute trillions of dollars in productivity to the global economy. For more, visit ccianet.org.
