Apple Launches Age Verification in Texas This Week
▼ Summary
– Texas residents creating a new Apple account must verify they are over 18 using a credit card or government ID.
– Users under 18 must join a Family Sharing group, and a parent or guardian must consent to app downloads and in-app purchases.
– Developers must provide age-appropriate experiences for users under 18 and can use Apple’s Declared Age Range API to check a user’s age range.
– An appeals court reversed a block on the App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420) in Texas, pending a decision on its constitutionality.
– A federal version of the App Store Accountability Act is moving through Congress and could impose age verification nationwide.
Texas is now at the center of a growing national conversation around online age verification, as Apple rolls out new identity checks for account creation this week. Starting now, anyone in Texas setting up a fresh Apple account must prove they are at least 18 years old, either by providing a government-issued ID or linking a credit card. In some cases, Apple may automatically verify a user’s age based on the account’s history and whether a credit card is already on file.
For users under 18, the process gets more restrictive. They must join a Family Sharing group, where a parent or guardian will be required to give explicit consent before any app downloads or in-app purchases can proceed. Developers, too, are being held to new standards. They are now responsible for delivering age-appropriate experiences for minors and can tap into Apple’s Declared Age Range API to determine a user’s age bracket.
This shift follows a legal tug-of-war over Texas’s App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420). Last December, a judge blocked the law from taking effect, but an appeals court has since reversed that decision, at least temporarily, while the court examines whether the measure is constitutional. Even if SB 2420 ultimately fails in Texas, a federal counterpart with the same name is winding its way through Congress. That bill could mandate age verification at the app store level across the entire country, reshaping how digital platforms handle user identity and parental oversight.
(Source: The Verge)
