A bipartisan coalition of 27 state attorneys general has urged the Supreme Court to uphold Texas’ App Store Accountability Act, arguing the law is a constitutional way to strengthen parental oversight and protect children online.
In an amicus brief led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, the states defended the Texas law, which requires app stores and developers to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before minors can make purchases.
The coalition argued the measure advances states’ longstanding interests in protecting children while reinforcing parents’ authority over their children’s online activity.
“Texas is fighting for the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their kids, and those rights should not be subject to the predations of Big Tech,” said Uthmeier.
The brief argues that states have “a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors” and states Texas’ law “serves to protect children by ensuring parents have greater visibility and control over which contracts their children enter into with app stores and developers.”
It contends the measure is “important yet unremarkable,” describing it as a traditional exercise of state authority over contracts involving minors and parental rights.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, another signatory, called the law “a meaningful first step to help prevent kids from accessing inappropriate or mature content.”
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said age verification is “a key piece” of protecting children online, pointing to his settlement with Roblox and “the lawsuits I’m leading against Discord, Meta, and YouTube, among others.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman also backed congressional efforts to establish similar federal standards, stating he is willing to support innovative ideas at the federal level to protect kids from online abuse and addiction, provided they work alongside state attorneys general and existing consumer protection laws.
While Congress debates the issue, Coleman added, “states are doing what they do best: defending their own citizens.”
The legal battle stems from a lawsuit filed by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which argue the law violates minors’ First Amendment rights by restricting access to apps that facilitate free expression.
A federal district judge blocked enforcement of the law in December, but the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that ruling earlier this month.
The plaintiffs have since asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the injunction.
The case comes as lawmakers in Washington continue debating national online child safety legislation. A federal version of the App Store Accountability Act passed the House this week as part of the KIDS Act, while Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is negotiating a broader child online safety package with the White House that is expected to include similar app store age-verification provisions.
