Apple starts App Store age verification in Texas on June 4 amid SB 2420 court battle

joshuark shares a report from The Verge: Apple will introduce age verification in the App Store for users in Texas starting on Thursday, June 4th. The move, as spotted by MacRumors, comes just days after a federal appeals court allowed Texas' App Store Accountability Act to go into effect while a lawsuit against it proceeds. People in Texas who are creating a new Apple account will need to verify they're over 18 using a credit card or government ID. Apple may also automatically verify users' age using the age of their account and whether they have a credit card on file. Despite Apple's attempts to push back on app store-level age verification, the company has announced plans to implement age checks to comply with laws in places like Utah, Louisiana, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and the UK. Google is required to make similar changes to the Play Store and is also introducing age-checking tools for developers. Last December, a judge blocked the App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420) from taking effect, but an appeals court has now reversed this decision -- at least while the court figures out whether the law is constitutional. Even if this law gets struck down in Texas, a federal version with the same name is still making its way through Congress and could impose age verification at the app store nationwide. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The state law governing app use by minors takes effect tomorrow.

Apple will introduce age verification in the App Store for users in Texas starting on Thursday, June 4th. The move, as spotted by MacRumors, comes just days after a federal appeals court allowed Texas' App Store Accountability Act to go into effect while a lawsuit against it proceeds. People in Texas who are creating a […]

Apple today said App Store rules in Texas are changing due to the enforcement of SB 2420, a law that adds age assurance requirements for app marketplaces and developers. Apple users located in Texas will soon be required to confirm whether they are 18 years or older when creating an Apple Account. Apple Accounts for users under 18 must be part of a Family Sharing group, and parents need to provide consent for all App Store downloads, app purchases, and in-app transactions. Developers need to adopt the Declared Age Range API to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas, and they are responsible for implementing the correct age restrictions. Developers must get parental consent for a minor to download an app, and are required to re-obtain consent if there is a "significant change" to an app. It is up to developers to determine when a significant change has been made to an app. Parents in Texas are able to revoke consent for any app they previously approved for their child, a system that developers also need to support. Apple has several APIs for developers who need to implement these features, including the Declared Age Range API and the Significant Change API. Developers could face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. Apple first outlined the changes it was making to support SB 2420 in October 2025, because it was supposed to go into effect on January 1, 2026. In December, a Texas federal judge blocked the age verification law and said it was "more likely than not unconstitutional" and a violation of the First Amendment due to the burden of age verification. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit temporarily stayed the injunction that was blocking the law from being enforced, so SB 2420 will go into effect on June 4, 2026. Legal proceedings are still ongoing, and the Fifth Circuit has not decided on whether it will issue a permanent stay of the injunction during the appeals process. The courts still need to determine the constitutionality of SB 2420 and whether the state has the authority to impose age verification requirements on app marketplaces. When SB 2420 is live, Apple will need to confirm user age when a person creates an Apple Account, an action that the company has not wanted to take. Apple is required to use "commercially reasonable methods to identify an individual's age" during account creation. Existing accounts are not affected. Google's Play Store is also subject to the law. Apple fought against age assurance requirements in Texas and other states because of the data collection required to determine user age. Apple says SB 2420 forces users to share personally identifiable data to download any apps, even a simple app for checking weather or sports scores. Apple introduced the Declared Age Range API to minimize data collection where possible. Apple CEO Tim Cook attempted to persuade Texas Governor Greg Abbott to veto the legislation, but Abbott went ahead and signed it into law. More information on Apple's age assurance frameworks can be found on its Developer website.Tags: App Store, TexasThis article, "Apple Bringing App Store Age Verification to Texas as SB 2420 Takes Effect June 4" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Starting tomorrow, June 4, app developers will have to comply with several App Store age assurance requirements tied to new Apple Accounts in Texas. Here are the details. more…