A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Texas law adding restrictions on children’s use of app stores.

Senate Bill 2420, which was supposed to activate on Jan. 1, establishes age verification requirements and mandates parental consent before a minor is allowed to download or make purchases within apps. Its supporters say the law is needed to protect children as they navigate social media and online spaces, while critics say it would violate free speech rights.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an Obama appointee, on Tuesday sided with the law’s opponents, saying that parts of it are “unconstitutionally vague” and “exceedingly overbroad.”

“The Act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” Pitman wrote in a 20-page ruling granting a preliminary injunction.

“As set out below, the Court finds a likelihood that, when considered on the merits, SB 2420 violates the First Amendment.”

The Texas attorney general’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request. The office of state Sen. Angela Paxton, the McKinney Republican who authored SB 2420, also didn’t immediately provide comment.

The Computer & Communication Industry Association, which filed the lawsuit in October, cheered the decision.

“This Order stops the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect in order to preserve the First Amendment rights of app stores, app developers, parents, and younger internet users,” Stephanie Joyce, director of CCIA’s Litigation Center, said in a news release. “It also protects parents’ inviolate right to use their own judgment in safeguarding their children online using the myriad tools our members provide.”

The law also faced a legal challenge from two Texas teens and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a youth-led advocacy organization.

“App stores allow anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection to access the accumulated sum of virtually all recorded human knowledge and expression,” Adam Sieff, an attorney representing them, said in a statement Tuesday. “Banning students like SEAT’s members, M.F., and Z.B., from accessing these massive libraries without parental consent, just because the government thinks that’s what their parents ought to want, has never been a constitutionally permissible way to protect kids or support families.”

Under SB 2420, developers must assign age ratings to their apps, disclose the reason for the rating, and notify the app stores of any significant changes. Parental consent is not required for specific emergency or educational applications, such as those providing access to crisis hotlines.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the proposal into law in May.

“Safety and online privacy for Texas children remains a priority for Governor Abbott, which is why he signed SB 2420 into law. Texas will empower parents to have more control over the online content their children can access,” Andrew Mahaleris, his press secretary, said earlier this year.

Beyond this law, Texas lawmakers have generally made regulating the internet for young people a priority in recent legislative sessions.

In 2023, the state began requiring companies that operate websites where more than one-third of the material is harmful to minors to use “reasonable” age verification measures to ensure users are at least 18 years old. This law, House Bill 1181, was part of a broader push to prevent children from being exposed to pornography.

A group of adult entertainment websites sued, arguing the 2023 law violated free speech and privacy protections.

Texas countered that the state had a right to protect children with what Solicitor General Aaron Nielson framed as “simple, safe and common” restrictions.

The U.S Supreme Court sided with Texas, deeming the law constitutional in a significant win for the online security movement.

However, a federal district court has issued several temporary blocks on provisions of another 2023 law — House Bill 18 — that restricts what kinds of materials and advertisements minors can see on social media and the age verification requirements, signaling that courts are not unified on how to regulate social media and online youth presence.

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