As states across the country move to check the ages of app users, California is building its own system, and a Supreme Court order this week showed the legal fights around these laws are far from over.
The justices on July 6 declined, without comment, to block Texas from enforcing its App Store Accountability Act while a challenge proceeds. The order did not decide whether the Texas law is constitutional and did not alter California law, but it left one of the nation's strictest app-age mandates in force.
California's answer is Assembly Bill 1043, the Digital Age Assurance Act. Instead of requiring app stores to police downloads, the measure asks operating system providers, including Apple and Google, to establish a user's age range and pass it along to app developers. The law was enacted in October 2025 and takes effect January 1, 2027.
The Texas law it contrasts with, Senate Bill 2420, took effect January 1 and requires parental consent before anyone under 18 downloads an app or makes an in-app purchase, along with app labels for four age groups. Utah, Louisiana and Alabama have passed their own app store accountability laws.
The Texas measure drew a court challenge from the Computer and Communications Industry Association and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, which say it violates the First Amendment. Arguments before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are scheduled for early August.
