AG Paxton Secures Major Victory Protecting Children Online By Requiring Age Verification and Parental Approval for Minors’ App Downloads

AUSTIN, TX -- Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a major victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by successfully defending Texas’s law that requires major app stores to verify users’ ages and give parents greater control over the apps their children download.

Senate Bill 2420 was passed by the Legislature last spring and signed into law by Governor Abbott on May 27, 2025. The law was subsequently blocked by a federal district judge in December 2025 and Attorney General Paxton appealed. The Fifth Circuit has now ruled that the district court’s injunction should be stayed until the Fifth Circuit can rule on Attorney General Paxton’s motion to stay the injunction pending appeal.

The law requires the owners of app stores, primarily Apple and Google, to use commercially reasonable methods to identify an individual's age. Under the law, accounts belonging to minors must be linked to a parent or guardian account. Before a minor may download an app, the parent or guardian must receive notice of the app’s age rating and provide approval. This law helps parents make informed decisions about the digital content they allow their children to access. SB 2420 only applies to app downloads and purchases by minors.

“Texas has not only the right, but the duty, to protect children from the harms of our modern digital space,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Parents deserve to know what their children are downloading and to have the ability to stop them from accessing harmful or inappropriate content. I will continue protecting Texas children from online predators, exploitation, and dangerous content while defending parents’ fundamental right to guide and protect their children.”

To read the ruling, click here.