Article 07.02.25
Alert
Alert
07.02.25
On May 27, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 2420, also known as the App Store Accountability Act. The law will take effect on January 1, 2026, and requires businesses operating app stores to verify user ages at account creation, obtain parental consent for minors before allowing app downloads or in-app purchases, and share age and consent information with developers.
This law reflects a growing nationwide trend of states asserting regulatory authority over technology, privacy and child safety. The App Store Accountability Act represents a shift in how digital access and accountability will be regulated, with potential effects on a variety of companies that distribute software online.
Although the App Store Accountability Act is presented as a measure targeting mobile app distribution, its definitions leave considerable room for interpretation. As a result, the law could apply to a broader class of digital services, including platforms that deliver games, interactive experiences or third-party content, even if they do not resemble conventional app stores.
Key Provisions of the App Store Accountability Act
The Act establishes a detailed regulatory framework for app store operators and software developers that distribute content to users on mobile devices. The law includes five key provisions, outlined below.
Definitions
The Act defines an “App Store” as “a publicly available Internet website, software application, or other electronic service that distributes software applications from the owner or developer of a software application to the user of a mobile device.”
Notably, this definition might not be limited to traditional mobile app stores. An aggressive reading might extend it to platforms that distribute software or apps on mobile devices beyond mobile phones such as handheld gaming devices, wearables or other hardware devices that have the capability to remotely access such platforms to download software applications.
The law defines a “Mobile Device” as “a portable, wireless electronic device, including a tablet or smartphone, capable of transmitting, receiving, processing, and storing information wirelessly that runs an operating system designed to manage hardware resources and perform common services for software applications on handheld electronic devices.”
While this clearly includes smartphones and tablets, the definition’s language suggests it could also apply to other internet-connected, app-capable handhelds, depending on their configuration and use.
The practical effect of these definitions is that companies that do not traditionally view themselves as operating “app stores” could potentially be subject to the App Store Accountability Act’s requirements.
Age Verification and Parental Consent
The Act requires any covered app store operator to implement commercially reasonable methods to verify the age of each user at the time the user creates an account. Users will be categorized into four age groups: under 13, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, and 18 or older.
If a user is identified as a minor (under age 18), the app store must take additional steps to ensure compliance:
- Download or purchase an application or
- Make an in-app purchase of any kind.
This framework goes beyond the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which safeguards users under 13, by establishing a structured consent process for all minors under 18. For affected entities, this necessitates investing in reliable age estimation or identity verification technologies, as well as mechanisms for managing consent status on a per-transaction basis.
App Store Responsibilities
App stores are responsible not only for verifying age and consent, but also for communicating that information to developers and users.
The law imposes three new obligations:
This section effectively formalizes a chain of custody for consent and user status, where the app store acts as the initial gatekeeper but must keep downstream parties (i.e., developers) informed of any changes.
Developer Responsibilities
Developers that distribute apps through covered platforms are not exempt from compliance. In fact, the App Store Accountability Act imposes several direct obligations on developers themselves:
This creates a two-tiered compliance structure. App stores must collect and transmit the necessary data, but developers must also build enforcement into their own platforms and processes.
Enforcement Mechanisms
The Act classifies all violations as deceptive trade practices under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA). This designation opens the door to enforcement actions by the Texas Attorney General, as well as potential private lawsuits brought by consumers or guardians.
Because DTPA violations can result in significant remedies, including economic damages, injunctive relief and attorneys' fees, noncompliance may present both regulatory and financial risks.
Importantly, while the Act provides limited protection for developers who rely in good faith on age and consent information received from an app store, it does not create a broader safe harbor for mistakes made in implementing or managing compliance obligations. Consequently, even inadvertent failures may lead to liability.
How the Texas Law Compares to Laws in Other States
The Texas App Store Accountability Act aligns with a broader national trend of state-level legislation aimed at enhancing online safety for minors.
Similarities with Other State Laws
Outcomes and Legal Challenges
The above laws have faced legal challenges, mostly centered on First Amendment and privacy concerns. The experiences in these jurisdictions may preview the legal trajectory of Texas’s law.
Although no lawsuit has yet been filed alleging violations of the Texas law, opposition has been vocal. The Computer & Communications Industry Association publicly urged Gov. Abbott to veto the bill, and privacy objections were reportedly raised during the legislative process by at least one technology company. Based on the outcomes in California and Arkansas, similar litigation may be on the horizon in Texas.
Does the App Store Accountability Act Have Broader Implications?
Even with clear definitions in the statute, the Texas App Store Accountability Act leaves open a number of interpretive questions that may significantly affect how companies approach compliance. These open questions introduce operational and legal uncertainty for a wide range of digital businesses.
Edge Cases and Platform Ambiguity
A central concern is how enforcement agencies will interpret platforms that function similarly to app stores but do not fit the traditional mold. For instance, in the video game ecosystem:
Whether these platforms are considered “app stores” under the statute will likely depend on how enforcement is approached by the Texas Attorney General or interpreted by courts.
Developer Responsibility in a Shared Compliance Model
Developers must now operate within a regulatory framework where compliance is shared, and potentially fragmented, between platforms and content creators. Even if the app store verifies a user’s age and obtains parental consent, developers are still required to act on that information, apply content restrictions and handle user data accordingly.
This raises questions about how developers will receive and validate consent signals, how long they must retain data, and whether inconsistencies between platforms could lead to liability.
Inconsistent Patchwork of State Laws
In addition to the Texas Act, Utah’s law is already in effect, and several other similar laws are under consideration. As more states pass laws in this space, each with slightly different standards and definitions, companies may end up facing a fragmented compliance environment. This increases the cost and complexity of digital distribution, particularly for companies operating at a national or global scale.
Implementation Watchpoints and Strategic Considerations
While the Texas App Store Accountability Act does not apply to all companies, for those that fall within its definitions, it will undoubtedly introduce a range of operational and regulatory complexities that require careful cross-functional coordination. Legal, compliance, product and engineering teams will all likely have a role in managing these pressure points.
Below are several areas where the law may create challenges and where legal and strategic input can help build durable, scalable solutions.
1. Consent Chains May Be Technically Difficult to Manage
The Act creates a data dependency between app stores and developers: Age and consent information must be collected by one party and relied on by another. In practice, this raises questions about data accuracy, retention and accountability.
Companies may want legal input on how to structure these data flows in ways that reduce exposure and clarify responsibility between commercial partners.
2. User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UX) Pressure Around Parental Consent Flows
Designing an age-gating and parental consent interface that meets legal requirements while preserving UX is a known challenge. With the Act applying to all users under 18, the UI requirements become even more complex.
Product and engineering teams may benefit from legal review early in the design process to help avoid unintentionally noncompliant or overly broad gating mechanisms.
3. Classification and Rating Workload for Developers
Developers must assign and justify age ratings for each app and in-app purchase. Depending on the scope of a platform or catalog, this could become a recurring, resource-intensive task, especially where user-generated content is involved.
Some companies may find it helpful to build standardized internal policies around age classification, informed by legal and regulatory review.
4. No Safe Harbor Creates Enforcement Ambiguity
Unlike some federal frameworks, the Act does not offer a safe harbor for companies that make good-faith compliance efforts. Compounding this, the standard for what constitutes a “commercially reasonable” age-verification method remains unclear, increasing both legal risk and uncertainty for app stores.
Staying informed on enforcement trends, and shaping internal policies to align with regulatory expectations, can help mitigate this uncertainty.
5. Patchwork Compliance Models Across States
The Texas App Store Accountability Act is one of several state laws that might impose age verification and parental consent requirements, with specific obligations varying by jurisdiction. Each law defines platforms, users and obligations differently, creating a potential compliance patchwork for national operators.
Legal teams will need to evaluate how the Texas law interacts with laws in states like Utah, California and Arkansas and whether a unified compliance model is feasible or needs to be localized.
Final Thoughts
The Texas App Store Accountability Act reflects an increasing trend among states to impose regulatory requirements on how digital content is distributed to and accessed by minors. For businesses operating platforms, marketplaces or content services in Texas and beyond, the law presents both technical implementation challenges and broader questions of regulatory alignment.
Pillsbury’s technology attorneys advise clients across the digital economy on state-level compliance, content governance and the evolving legal landscape affecting online platforms. Our team is available to assist companies in assessing the implications of this important new regulatory requirement and related legislation.
(This alert is part of our Texas Legislative Session 2025 in Review series, designed to help readers navigate the evolving legal landscape and prepare for what lies ahead. In it, Pillsbury’s multidisciplinary team of attorneys offers in-depth analysis of the most consequential developments—what passed, what stalled and what it all means for stakeholders across key industries.)