Apple is implementing significant changes to its App Store in Texas by January 1, 2026, to comply with the state's App Store Accountability Act (SB2420). This mandates that Texas users confirm age 18+ or join a Family Sharing group with parental consent for all App Store downloads and purchases if under 18, requiring developers to adapt their apps with new Apple APIs. Apple, which previously opposed the law due to privacy concerns over mandatory personally identifiable information collection for app downloads, is now navigating the regulatory landscape while emphasizing its commitment to child safety and privacy within legal constraints, despite the state's undefined "commercially reasonable verification" method.
Apple today outlined changes that it is making to the App Store for users and developers located in Texas to comply with the state's App Store Accountability Act (SB2420). Starting on January 1, 2026, Apple users located in Texas will need to confirm whether they are 18 years or older when creating an Apple account. Apple Accounts for users under 18 will be required to join a Family Sharing group, and parents will need to provide consent for all App Store downloads, app purchases, and in-app transactions. Developers will also need to make changes to their apps to comply with the law. To assist developers, Apple plans to update the Declared Age Range API to provide the required age categories for new account users in Texas. Apple is also creating APIs that will let developers invoke a system experience to allow the user to request that parental consent be re-obtained. Parents will also be able to revoke consent to prevent a minor from using an app. Apple has been fighting against age assurance requirements in Texas and other states like Utah and Louisiana, because of the data collection required to determine user age. Apple says that SB2420 will force users to share personally identifiable information to download apps. While we share the goal of strengthening kids' online safety, we are concerned that SB2420 impacts the privacy of users by requiring the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores. Apple will continue to provide parents and developers with industry-leading tools that help enhance child safety while safeguarding privacy within the constraints of the law. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly contacted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to ask him to veto the legislation, but Abbott was not persuaded and he signed the act into law in May. In an attempt to head off child protection laws that vary from state to state, Apple introduced new child safety measures at the beginning of 2025. Apple created an updated age rating system, added a simpler way for parents to set up child accounts, made changes to what kids see on the App Store, and developed the Declared Age Range API to provide a privacy-focused way for developers to confirm the age range of app users. Apple's Declared Age Range API prevents apps from having specific information about children, such as their date of birth. Apple has continually said that it does not want to collect information like date of birth at the App Store level because all users would need to hand over that information regardless of whether they want to use an age limited app. SB2420 requires app store platforms to "use a commercially reasonable method of verification" to determine a user's age during account creation. Texas does not define what a commercially reasonable method of verification entails, and Apple hasn't specified how age verification will work. Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts. Apple (AAPL) is implementing significant App Store changes in Texas by January 1, 2026, to comply with the state's App Store Accountability Act (SB2420). This mandates age confirmation for all Texas users and parental consent for App Store downloads and purchases for those under 18. Apple is providing new APIs, including an updated Declared Age Range API, to assist developers with these compliance requirements. The company previously opposed SB2420, citing concerns that it forces the collection of personally identifiable information for all app downloads, thereby impacting user privacy. CEO Tim Cook reportedly sought to veto the legislation. This ongoing tension between state-level data mandates and Apple's privacy-centric platform is reflected in a "moderately negative" general sentiment (-0.5) and a specific per-ticker sentiment of -0.6 for AAPL. Texas's law requires a "commercially reasonable method of verification" but fails to define it, introducing ambiguity for Apple's implementation. This regulatory uncertainty, coupled with the company's defensive tone, suggests potential operational complexities and increased compliance expenditures. Investors should note this as a critical example of rising "Regulation & Legislation" and "Cybersecurity & Data Privacy" themes impacting technology giants.
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