Apple has halted the rollout of its planned app‑store changes in Texas following a federal judge’s preliminary injunction that blocked the state’s age‑verification law, SB 2420, on December 23, 2025. The injunction, issued by Judge Robert Pitman, declared the law more likely than not unconstitutional under the First Amendment and prevented it from taking effect on January 1, 2026.
SB 2420, known as the App Store Accountability Act, required app stores to verify users’ ages, obtain parental consent for minors, and share age and consent data with developers. Apple’s opposition centered on the law’s demand that all users provide sensitive, personally identifiable information—even for simple app downloads—raising privacy concerns and potentially exposing the company to significant data‑collection liabilities.
Judge Pitman’s ruling compared the law to a bookstore’s age‑verification requirement, arguing that the Texas statute was exceedingly overbroad and not narrowly tailored to a compelling governmental interest. The court found that the law’s broad scope and forced‑speech mandates violated First Amendment protections, thereby granting the injunction that halted its implementation.
Apple’s pause reflects a broader pattern of state‑level age‑verification mandates that tech companies are challenging. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, representing Apple, Google, and Meta, sued Texas, arguing that the law imposed a “broad censorship regime.” Similar legislation is pending in Utah and Louisiana, and Apple has consistently advocated for privacy‑friendly alternatives that protect minors without requiring mass data collection.
Following the injunction, Apple’s stock rose 0.56% on December 24, 2025, as investors interpreted the ruling as a relief from an immediate compliance burden and a win against a potentially costly regulatory regime. The market reaction underscored confidence in Apple’s ability to maintain its current operational model while the legal process unfolds.
Apple will keep the developer tools it announced for testing and use, but it will not roll out the new requirements until the court’s decision is finalized. The pause provides temporary respite, but the company remains exposed to future legal challenges in other states and to evolving regulatory scrutiny of app‑store practices.
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