It might only be a temporary reprieve, but Apple and Google will take it-for now. On Tuesday, Judge Robert Pitman granted a temporary preliminary injunction on the Texas App Store Accountability Act. The ruling doesn't permanently strike down the law but prevents it from going onto effect on January 1st for now. Had that ruling not been made, Apple and Google would have had to start verifying the age of all App Store and Play Store users in Texas starting on January 1st, slightly over a week from today.
Apple CEO Tim Cook lobbied against the bill
Back in May, we told you that Apple CEO Tim Cook had spoken with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about changing the bill or vetoing it when it hit his desk. Abbott went ahead and signed the bill in May making it Texas state law and forcing both Apple and Google to verify the age of every App Store and Play Store visitor, respectively. The act was designed to prevent younger users from viewing inappropriate content.
App Store users in Texas get a temporary reprieve from having to reveal their age. Image credit-PhoneArena
Following the ruling by Judge Pitman, we will probably see the Texas Attorney General appeal the ruling to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Pitman says that it's likely that the act violates the First Amendment, calling it "exceedingly overbroad." He also said that "however compelling the policy concerns, and however widespread the agreement that the issue must be addressed, the court remains bound by the rule of law."
Every app store customer would fit into a particular age bracket
The law, as we already noted, required app stores to verify the age of every user in Texas. In his order, Pitman compared the act to a law that would require a bookstore to verify the age of every customer before allowing them access into the store. And parental consent would be needed before minors could purchase a book. The law would have placed users into one of four categories based on age:
Child: 12 and under.
Younger Teenager: 13–15.
Older Teenager: 16–17.
Adult: 18+.
The state of Texas believes that the act is a constitutional law and considering that other states have passed similar acts, it is extremely likely that the state files an appeal very soon. Congress has also considered attempting to pass a federal version of the bill that would need to get voted through the House and Senate before being signed by the president. Determining the age of app store users in order to make sure that they are old enough to view certain content in the stores is a process known as age-gating.
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Would you have minded giving up your age?
Yes. That is my personal data.
85.71%
No. I really don't mind.
14.29%
Apple claims that the Texas App Store Accountability Act would force it to collect and keep sensitive personal data, such as government ID, from all users, not just children. The law would require that for anyone under 18, app stores would have to collect explicit parental approval before a minor could download or purchase any app, App developers would have to assign ratings to their apps and detail the reason for each app's rating.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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