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Supreme Court allows Texas law regulating app stores to stand for now : NPR
NPR • • general
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court allowed a Texas law requiring parental consent for minors to download most apps to take effect, while lawsuits challenging it continue in lower courts.
- The law, known as the App Store Accountability Act, mandates age verification for app downloads and aims to protect minors from harmful content, with limited exceptions for emergency services and college exam apps.
- Opponents argue the law infringes on children's free speech rights, but Texas contends it regulates commercial speech, which has lower constitutional protection.
- A lower court initially blocked the law, citing free speech concerns, but the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it, and the Supreme Court declined to block it further.
- Similar laws have been passed in Utah, Louisiana, and Alabama, and while the Supreme Court's decision is not a final ruling on constitutionality, it signals tentative support for the law's enforcement during ongoing litigation.
