On Christmas Eve 2024, a federal judge blocked Texas from forcing Apple and Google to verify every user's age before they could download apps. It was the latest casualty in a nationwide wave of age verification laws—over half of U.S. states passed them in two years—that kept running into the same problem: judges said they violated the First Amendment. Just nine days earlier, courts struck down age verification schemes in Louisiana and Arkansas on the same day, part of a December 2025 blitz that killed three state laws in two weeks. But in late November, the 11th Circuit handed states their first major victory, allowing Florida to enforce HB 3, which bans social media accounts for children under 14.
The collision has created a split-screen reality. In June 2025, the Supreme Court said Texas could force porn sites to check IDs. The 11th Circuit allowed Florida's social media restrictions to proceed. But courts have killed nearly identical laws in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas (for app stores), and California. The distinction: what counts as obscenity versus protected speech, and how narrowly laws are tailored. At stake is who controls the internet's front door—parents, states, or tech platforms—and whether protecting children requires adults to surrender anonymity online.
More than half of U.S. states enacted age verification requirements since 2023
7
State laws blocked in 2025
Louisiana, Arkansas social media laws (Dec 15); Texas app store law (Dec 24); Arkansas, Ohio permanent injunctions (April); California partial block (Dec 31/Jan 2)
1
State law allowed to proceed
Florida HB 3 cleared for enforcement by 11th Circuit in November 2024
Jan 1, 2026
Blocked Texas law's effective date
SB 2420 would have required age verification for all app downloads
6-3
Supreme Court vote upholding porn age checks
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton allowed Texas HB 1181 to stand, breaking from earlier precedent
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People Involved
Ken Paxton
Attorney General of Texas (Filed appeal to Fifth Circuit challenging SB 2420 injunction on December 26; continues defending multiple age verification laws after Supreme Court porn age verification win)
Robert Lee Pitman
U.S. District Judge, Western District of Texas (Issued preliminary injunction blocking Texas SB 2420)
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (Wrote majority opinion in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton)
John W. deGravelles
U.S. District Judge, Middle District of Louisiana (Struck down Louisiana SB 162 age verification law)
Timothy L. Brooks
U.S. District Judge, Western District of Arkansas (Blocked Arkansas Act 901 targeting social media algorithms)
Liz Murrill
Attorney General of Louisiana (Announced appeal of SB 162 ruling to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; condemned December 15 ruling as protecting corporations over children)
Tim Griffin
Attorney General of Arkansas (Vowed to 'vigorously defend Act 901' after December 15 preliminary injunction; continuing legal battle over social media platform liability law)
James Uthmeier
Attorney General of Florida (Successfully defended Florida HB 3 before 11th Circuit; law cleared for enforcement while litigation continues)
Robin S. Rosenbaum
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Dissented from 2-1 decision allowing Florida HB 3 enforcement)
Organizations Involved
NE
NetChoice
Trade Association
Status: Leading litigation against state age verification laws; won preliminary injunctions blocking Louisiana SB 162 and Arkansas Act 901 on December 15, 2024; lost 11th Circuit appeal allowing Florida HB 3 enforcement in November 2024; previously won permanent injunctions in Arkansas, Ohio, Louisiana (2024)
Tech industry trade group whose members include Meta, Google, and X, fighting age verification laws nationwide.
CO
Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
Trade Association
Status: Successfully blocked Texas SB 2420; members include Apple and Google
International tech trade group representing app store operators in the Texas case.
EL
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Digital Rights Advocacy Organization
Status: Filing amicus briefs opposing age verification laws
Digital civil liberties group opposing online age verification as a privacy and free speech threat.
Timeline
Texas appeals SB 2420 injunction to Fifth Circuit
Legal
Attorney General Ken Paxton files notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Judge Pitman's preliminary injunction blocking the App Store Accountability Act, setting up appellate battle over constitutional limits on state regulation of app distribution.
Louisiana AG Murrill announces Fifth Circuit appeal plans
Legal
Following Judge deGravelles's December 15 ruling striking down SB 162, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announces intent to appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, stating 'it's unfortunate that the court chose to protect huge corporations that facilitate child exploitation over the legislative policy to require simple age verification mechanisms.'
Louisiana social media age verification law blocked
Legal
U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles rules Louisiana SB 162 (Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act) unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment by being overly vague and imposing content-based restrictions failing strict scrutiny. Louisiana AG Liz Murrill announces plans to appeal.
Arkansas Act 901 blocked on First Amendment grounds
Legal
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks grants preliminary injunction against Arkansas Act 901, which would have allowed parents to sue social media platforms for content linked to eating disorders, suicide attempts, or platform addiction. Brooks rules the law 'likely unconstitutional' for restricting algorithmic design. Arkansas AG Tim Griffin vows to continue defending the law.
Supreme Court allows Mississippi social media law to proceed
Legal
Court refuses to block Fifth Circuit decision lifting injunction against state's social media age verification law.
Supreme Court upholds Texas porn age verification 6-3
Legal
Justice Thomas writes majority applying intermediate scrutiny; breaks from Reno v. ACLU precedent for obscene content.
NetChoice secures permanent injunctions in Arkansas and Ohio
Legal
Federal courts permanently block social media age verification laws in both states.
California Age-Appropriate Design Code blocked again
Legal
District court grants third preliminary injunction, finding content-based restrictions likely fail strict scrutiny.
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton
Legal
Justices question attorneys on whether porn age verification violates First Amendment.
California SB 976 fully enjoined pending appeal
Legal
Following partial block on December 31, 2024, federal judge issues broader preliminary injunction placing entire California Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act on hold, blocking time-of-day restrictions for minors and reporting requirements while age verification provisions remain scheduled for December 2026.
Federal judge blocks Texas app store law
Legal
Judge Robert Pitman grants CCIA's preliminary injunction against SB 2420, finding First Amendment violation.
NetChoice wins permanent block of Louisiana law
Legal
Federal judge finds Louisiana's social media age verification law unconstitutionally vague.
11th Circuit allows Florida HB 3 enforcement to proceed
Legal
In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals grants Florida's request for a stay of the preliminary injunction, allowing the state to enforce its law banning social media accounts for children under 14 and requiring parental permission for ages 14-15. Judge Robin Rosenbaum dissents, calling the law 'plainly unconstitutional.' This marks the first major appellate victory for state age verification laws.
Ninth Circuit partially blocks California Age-Appropriate Design Code
Legal
Appeals court upholds injunction on data protection impact assessments, vacates rest, remands for detailed review.
Fifth Circuit upholds Texas porn age verification
Legal
Appeals court reverses district court, finding HB 1181 constitutional under rational basis review.
Ohio law temporarily blocked
Legal
Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley grants temporary restraining order against Ohio law.
Federal court blocks Arkansas law hours before effective date
Legal
Judge Timothy L. Brooks issues preliminary injunction, finding law unconstitutionally restricts speech.
Ohio passes Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act
Legislation
Law requires platforms to verify users are 16+ and obtain parental consent for younger users.
NetChoice sues Arkansas
Legal
Tech trade group files First Amendment challenge to Social Media Safety Act.
Utah SB 287 takes effect
Legislation
Utah becomes early adopter with age verification law for adult content sites.
Arkansas passes Social Media Safety Act
Legislation
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs Act 689 requiring social media age verification and parental consent for minors.
Louisiana becomes first state with porn age verification law
Legislation
Louisiana's law takes effect, requiring age verification for websites where over one-third of content is sexually explicit material harmful to minors.
Scenarios
1
Fifth Circuit Reverses Texas App Store Ruling, Creating Circuit Split
Discussed by: Legal analysts at Hunton Andrews Kurth, TechPolicy.Press, constitutional law scholars
Texas appeals Judge Pitman's injunction to the Fifth Circuit, which has already shown willingness to uphold age verification laws in the porn case. The appeals court distinguishes app stores from social media, noting Apple and Google already collect user ages for child accounts. It rules that SB 2420 passes intermediate scrutiny because it regulates distribution channels, not content. This conflicts with Ninth Circuit rulings blocking California's design code, setting up a Supreme Court showdown on whether app stores are more like bookstores (protected) or liquor stores (regulable).
2
Supreme Court Draws Line: Obscenity Yes, Social Media No
The Supreme Court clarifies that its Free Speech Coalition decision applies only to obscene content, not general speech platforms. Writing for a 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts holds that social media and app stores host constitutionally protected speech and cannot be subject to blanket age verification. The Court distinguishes between age-gating specific harmful content (allowed) and requiring ID to access general platforms (unconstitutional). States must use less restrictive means like improved parental controls and platform-level filtering. This kills the current wave of state laws but invites narrower regulations.
3
Tech Platforms Preempt Regulation with Universal Age Verification
Discussed by: Industry watchers at TechCrunch, Meta public statements, Apple developer documentation
Facing a patchwork of state laws and uncertain court rulings, Apple and Google implement optional age verification at the account level—not per app. Parents can verify children's ages once during account setup, enabling built-in parental controls. Meta, X, and other platforms follow suit. States declare victory, tech companies avoid the worst-case scenario of per-download ID checks, and civil liberties groups grudgingly accept the compromise. The voluntary system becomes the de facto standard, making state laws redundant. Courts dismiss pending cases as moot.
4
Congress Passes Federal Framework, Preempting State Laws
Discussed by: Congressional testimony from child safety advocates, federal legislation trackers
Bipartisan frustration with the legal chaos leads Congress to pass a federal age verification standard. The law creates a safe harbor for platforms using approved age estimation technology (facial analysis, device signals) instead of collecting government IDs. It preempts conflicting state laws and limits liability for platforms acting in good faith. Privacy advocates hate it, but tech platforms prefer one federal rule to fifty state ones. Implementation struggles follow, but the Supreme Court upholds it 7-2, finding it content-neutral and narrowly tailored.
5
Circuit Split Forces Supreme Court Intervention
Discussed by: Constitutional law scholars, NetChoice legal team, state attorneys general
The 11th Circuit's decision allowing Florida HB 3 creates a direct conflict with other circuits blocking similar laws. The Supreme Court grants certiorari to resolve whether social media age verification laws are constitutional. The Court's decision will either validate Florida's narrower approach (banning accounts for young children with parental consent for teens) or extend First Amendment protection uniformly across all platforms, potentially invalidating dozens of state laws simultaneously.
Historical Context
Reno v. ACLU (1997) — Communications Decency Act Struck Down
1996-1997
What Happened
Congress passed the Communications Decency Act to protect minors from online indecency by criminalizing transmission of obscene material to anyone under 18. The law included an affirmative defense for sites using age verification like credit cards. The Supreme Court unanimously struck it down, ruling the internet deserves the highest First Amendment protection—like print media, not broadcast TV.
Outcome
Short Term
Established that online speech gets strict scrutiny; government must use least restrictive means to protect children.
Long Term
Created 28-year precedent that age verification laws unconstitutionally burden adult access to lawful speech.
Why It's Relevant Today
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (2025) explicitly breaks from Reno by applying intermediate scrutiny to age verification. Justice Kagan's dissent warned this erodes adults' rights to anonymous access.
COPPA Enforcement Against Epic Games (2022)
2022
What Happened
The FTC fined Epic Games $275 million for illegally collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Epic made it hard for parents to delete data and used dark patterns to trick kids into purchases. It remains the largest COPPA penalty ever imposed.
Outcome
Short Term
Epic overhauled Fortnite's parental controls and default privacy settings for young users.
Long Term
Demonstrated federal enforcement tools already exist but are inconsistently applied; states cite this gap to justify their own laws.
Why It's Relevant Today
State legislators argue COPPA only covers under-13 and isn't enforced aggressively enough, justifying broader age verification mandates for teens up to 18.
Utah Social Media Regulation (2023-2024)
2023-2024
What Happened
Utah passed the most aggressive social media restrictions in the nation, requiring age verification, default accounts for minors, curfews blocking late-night access, and giving parents full access to kids' DMs. Before the law took effect in March 2024, Utah amended it in response to industry pressure and constitutional concerns, weakening several provisions but keeping age verification requirements.
Outcome
Short Term
Utah's law influenced copycat legislation in 25+ states but faced immediate legal challenges.
Long Term
Established the template for state-level regulation: verify age, mandate parental consent, restrict features for minors.
Why It's Relevant Today
Shows the political momentum behind protecting kids online is bipartisan and overwhelming, even when courts keep blocking the laws. Utah's revisions demonstrate states are learning to craft narrower laws that might survive scrutiny.
