Texas pushes Fifth Circuit to overturn block on parental-consent app law

Texas has petitioned a three-judge Fifth Circuit panel to reverse a district court order that stopped enforcement of Senate Bill 2420, a law signed by Governor Greg Abbott that would require parents to approve nearly every app a minor downloads or buys. Solicitor General William R. Peterson argued the statute does not evaluate content but merely shifts control to parents, and should be reviewed under intermediate scrutiny as a regulation of commercial conduct.

Opponents, including the Computer & Communications Industry Association and a coalition of student plaintiffs represented by Adam Sieff, claim the rule broadly suppresses First Amendment expression, covering everything from educational tools to religious material. Circuit Judge Cory T. Wilson questioned whether the law’s age-verification requirement effectively endorses state-approved content and whether it is overly broad.

The lower court’s reliance on the Supreme Court’s Moody v. NetChoice framework was criticized as insufficiently detailed. The Fifth Circuit has issued a stay on the injunction, which the Supreme Court upheld in July, and said it will issue a decision as soon as possible.