Item 1 of 2 Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. REUTERS\/Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\/File Photo<\/p>\n
[1\/2]<\/b>Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. REUTERS\/Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a>WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday blocked Texas from enforcing a new state law aimed at protecting children by requiring app stores and developers to verify the age of users, in a win for Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab<\/a> , Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab<\/a> Google and other technology companies.U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin issued a preliminary injunction, opens new tab<\/a> against the state\u2019s App Store Accountability Act, finding the measure likely violates the U.S. Constitution’s speech protections under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n The law, which was set to take effect<\/a> in January, would require parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users aged below 18. Pitman\u2019s ruling was a win for the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which sued to stop the law.The order was a setback to Texas and its efforts to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers, part of a broader crackdown<\/a> by some U.S. states to combat potentially harmful effects of social media on young people. Australia this month became the first country<\/a> to ban social media for children under 16.<\/p>\n The Texas attorney general\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Pitman acknowledged concerns about children\u2019s online safety but said \u201chowever compelling the policy concerns, and however widespread the agreement that the issue must be addressed, the court remains bound by the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n The Washington, D.C.-based Computer & Communications Industry Association welcomed the order.<\/p>\n The order will “preserve the First Amendment rights of app stores, app developers, parents, and younger internet users,\u201d said Stephanie Joyce, who heads the group\u2019s litigation center. \u201cIt also protects parents\u2019 inviolate right to use their own judgment in safeguarding their children online using the myriad tools our members provide.\u201d<\/p>\n Google and Apple, which were not plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The Computer & Communications Industry Association said the law would have placed \u201cburdens on app stores, developers, minors, and parents that are completely disproportionate to any harm policymakers were attempting to remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n