- with Inhouse Counsel
The Fifth Circuit recently lifted a hold on the Texas App Store Accountability Act. The law requires age verification, parental consent, and age rating and content display for app store transactions involving minors. The law had been blocked by a federal court late last year, in advance of its January 1, 2026 effective date. The Fifth Circuit found the law’s requirements advance Texas’s interest in protecting children, in response to the First Amendment arguments against the law.
As we continue to watch this case, a reminder about the law’s requirements, especially given the fact that the effective date came before the Fifth Circuit’s ruling. The law applies to both app stores and app developers that make apps available to Texas users. There are no size or revenue thresholds. Key requirements include:
- Age verification. App stores must determine whether a user is a child (under 13), a younger teenager (13 to 15), an older teenager (16 to 17), or an adult (18 or older) when the user creates an account.
- Parental consent. For users under 18, app stores must link the minor’s account to a parent or guardian account and get that parent’s consent for each individual download or in-app purchase. Blanket approvals are not allowed. Parents must receive clear information about the app’s age rating, data practices, and any safeguards in place.
- Age ratings. Developers must assign age ratings and disclose the content that informed those ratings. App stores must display this information clearly.
- Data limits. App stores may only collect the personal data necessary for age verification and consent, and must transmit it using industry-standard encryption. Developers must delete age-related data once verification is complete.
- Change notifications. If a developer makes significant changes to an app, such as new data practices, a revised age rating, or added purchase features, the app store must get fresh consent from parents.
Putting It into Practice. Even though this case is far from over, we anticipate that app stores will begin work to comply with this law, which could have a ripple-down effect on developers who receive age information from the stores.
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