A new Texas statute aimed at inserting the state into routine decisions about app downloads has been stopped at the courthouse door, at least for now.
A federal judge ruled days before the law’s scheduled launch that its design collides with the First Amendment and cannot be enforced while the case moves forward.
Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking Senate Bill 2420, the Texas App Store Accountability Act, which was set to take effect on January 1.
We obtained a copy of the order for you here.
The law would have required app stores to verify every user’s age (which would mean digital ID checks or biometric scans) and forced minors to obtain parental approval before downloading apps or buying in-app content.
In a detailed written ruling, Pitman concluded the statute is both constitutionally defective and structurally unworkable.
“The Act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” he wrote.
He added that “when considered on the merits, SB 2420 violates the First Amendment.”
SB 2420 does not target a narrow category of online services. It applies to nearly every app store and app developer operating in Texas, bringing in news outlets, streaming platforms, educational tools, fitness apps, and digital libraries alongside social media and games.
Under the statute, developers must assign state-defined age ratings, explain the reasoning behind each rating, and report significant changes to content or features.
App stores would then be responsible for verifying the age category of every user. If the user is a minor, access is cut off until a parent or guardian establishes a verified parent account and grants consent for each individual download or purchase.
Failure to comply carries penalties of up to $10,000 per violation under the Texas consumer protection law.
More: The Digital ID and Online Age Verification Agenda
Judge Pitman noted that the law leaves little guidance on how developers are supposed to rate content or determine what qualifies as a “material change,” creating incentives for overblocking lawful speech to avoid enforcement risk.
The judge found that the statute regulates speech based on its content and therefore must survive strict constitutional scrutiny. In his view, Texas did not come close to meeting that burden.
The law restricts access to a vast range of protected expression without evidence that such a broad prohibition is necessary to protect minors.
Pitman also determined that key provisions are unconstitutionally vague.
Developers face liability for misrating apps without any clear standards, and stores are told to revoke access when content or functionality changes without a workable definition of what changes trigger that duty. This lack of clarity, the court said, invites arbitrary enforcement and chills lawful expression.
The injunction applies statewide and bars the Texas attorney general from implementing or enforcing any part of SB 2420 while the case continues.
