Report from MediaPost
In Brief – Federal District Judge Robert Pitman has blocked Texas from enforcing a new state law that requires companies that run app stores, like Apple and Google, to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for users under 18 to download apps or make in-app purchases. Pitman issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the state’s App Store Accountability Act, saying it likely violated the First Amendment. The judge compared the law to requiring bookstores to verify the age of customers at their doors and require parental consent before minors could enter, saying, “It restricts access to a vast universe of speech.” While the ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a group with Google and Apple as members, a range of industries supported the request, including a coalition of news organizations such as The New York Times and Associated Press, and retailer groups such as the National Retail Federation and Texas Retailers Association.
Context – Texas followed Utah in requiring app store operators to verify all users’ ages and then block minors from downloading apps without the permission of a parent or legal guardian. Meta has been the most vocal app developer arguing that Apple and Google, who play unique roles in their mobile ecosystems, are positioned to centrally handle age verification by confirming each user’s age at account set-up and managing parental consent regimes through linked devices and accounts. As governments worldwide introduce regulatory regimes intended to protect teens from various online harms, especially involving social media and pornography, age verification mandates will grow. In Australia and the UK, the duties fall to the covered apps. Singapore’s digital and media regulator has announced that very large app stores in that market, including Apple, Google and a few China-based companies, will need to do system-level age verification. The US Supreme Court ruled in June that age check mandates were acceptable for porn sites and states are rapidly attempting to expand them to social media.