The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Texas can, for now, continue enforcing its age verification law, which mandates app stores to verify minors’ ages and secure parental consent before downloading apps or making in-app purchases. 

The Texas App Store Accountability Act, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott in 2025, is being challenged in two separate lawsuits. One of the plaintiffs is the Consumer and Communications Industry Association, a tech industry trade group that counts Apple and Google among its members. The other is Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a student advocacy group that uses apps for civic education.

In a one-sentence order, Justice Samuel Alito denied the plaintiffs’ request to pause enforcement of the law while the case is being decided. As with previous legal battles over age verification, this decision will have ramifications on a rising tide of similar proposals across the country — and serves as a blow to free speech advocates working to stop them.

Age verification has become one of the most popular and controversial strategies proposed to keep kids safe while they’re online. The general idea is that if a tech company knows a user’s age, it can ensure that inappropriate content isn’t served to them. 

But free speech experts say that in practice, asking for a user to provide their government ID to prove their age comes with risks. People without government-issued ID cards may needlessly lose access. There are also concerns about tech companies sharing users’ personal data with authoritarian governments wanting to stifle critical speech.

Matthew Schruers, president of the Consumer and Communications Industry Association, said in a statement: “People should not have to turn over personal data to access the internet any more than they should show government identification to enter a bookstore.” 

On July 1, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law can remain in effect and enforceable while the court case is being debated. The Supreme Court ruling issued Monday declined to block this motion, so the law remains in effect in Texas. An expedited hearing in the Fifth Circuit is expected in early August.

According to Cameron Samuels, executive director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, one of the parties bringing the lawsuit, the Supreme Court is preventing Texans from accessing everyday apps pending a final decision. 

“In the name of protecting children and empowering parents, the App Store Accountability Act only burdens constitutional rights while doing nothing to hold technology companies accountable in the way Texas claims to intend,” Samuels told CNET in a statement. 

The Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.