MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A tech trade association has filed a lawsuit alleging that Alabama’s app store age verification law is unconstitutional.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, which is representing tech giants including Google, Amazon and Apple, filed the lawsuit at the end of October in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
The law in question, which was created by House Bill 161 during this year’s session, sorts all people into age categories when they make an account on app stores. If users are under age, guardians have to set up a linked account to approve the minor to download apps and make in-app purchases. If developers make major changes to apps, parents also have to reauthorize their children’s usage of them.
The law also stops app stores from being able to enforce contracts or terms of service agreements against minors without their parents’ permission. It is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
The lawsuit argues that the law violates Alabamians’ First Amendment rights by restricting access to constitutionally protected speech, claiming that age verification “imposes a broad censorship regime.” The CCIA also asserts that the law is too vague and that it violates the commerce clause.
“(T)he law walls off virtually all mobile apps behind a series of verification and consent gates,” the initial complaint filed on Oct. 28 reads. “That includes apps that facilitate core political or educational speech; creative or artistic expression; religious instruction and information; or the exchange of ideas, information, and culture.”
Bill sponsor Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, said during session that the law puts the control back in parents’ hands by stopping children from downloading apps without adults’ permission.
This child protection framing is one of the claims the CCIA takes issue with in its lawsuit.
“The legislative record—including statements from sponsors in both the House and Senate, as well as other representatives and senators—makes clear that the Act is justified by the desire to protect minors from content the state deems harmful or age-inappropriate,” the lawsuit reads.
The association argues that enough tools are already in place for parents to protect their children, including parental controls available on several apps, and that the age verification measures required by the law are “burdensome and privacy-invasive.”
The CCIA also points out that the First Amendment prohibits laws that require venues like libraries, bookstores and community theaters to check identification before allowing people to enter, which the group asserts also applies online.
“Users should not have to provide ID to access information and applications online any more than they would to enter a bookstore,” CCIA President and CEO Matt Schruers said in a statement. “Alabama’s law would mean not only teens, but all internet users, would need to show government ID to prove their age before accessing information and apps. The First Amendment protects the rights of citizens of all ages to access information, and the rights of software distributors and developers to disseminate lawful speech.”
The CCIA’s case was consolidated with a similar lawsuit on Nov. 10, but it will remain the lead case, according to electronic court filings.
The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about the case.