App stores contain all kinds of apps . There are games designed for kids, and then apps catered towards adults. This means that there’s always a possibility that a child could stumble across an app designed for grown ups. This is why states like Texas wanted to introduce age verification to the app store. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen just yet .
Texas app store age verification put on hold (for now)
Recently, Judge Robert Pitman granted a temporary preliminary injunction against the Texas App Store Accountability Act. This means that for now, the law will not come into effect. Had Pitman not granted the injunction, it would have come into effect on January 1st, 2026. It would also mean that app store operators, like Apple and Google, would have to start implementing age verification checks for users in Texas.
According to Pitman, this law would be like requiring a bookstore to verify the age of every customer before they’re allowed access into the store. It would also require parental consent before minors could purchase a book.
However, there’s a chance the state could file an appeal. Other states have passed similar acts without issue, so there’s no reason this won’t come to pass, eventually.
Why are Apple and Google opposing this law?
That being said, we have to wonder, why are companies like Apple and Google against this law? Isn’t that a good thing to prevent minors from accessing content designed for adults? After all, we’ve seen how many parents have complained about kids accessing adult material on platforms like YouTube. This law could effectively prevent that when it comes to apps.
While we’re not sure about Google’s reasoning, Apple claimed that this law would force it to collect and keep sensitive personal data from all users. This is more or less in line with Apple’s pro-privacy stance, but we think it might have to do with money as well. Apple would need to spend resources building an age verification system .
Developers would also need to assign ratings and detail the reasons behind the ratings. This is extra work and more hurdles, which could result in fewer app submissions. Since Apple makes a fair bit of money from the cut it gets from app sales and in-app purchases, putting up road blocks could result in a hit in revenue. This is just speculation on our part, though.
