A trade organization that counts app store operators Google, Apple, and Amazon as members says a Texas law requiring proof of age to download a smartphone app is unconstitutional.
The law wrongly compels app developers to rate the age-appropriateness of their apps and also content available for in-app purchase, the Computer & Communications Industry Association alleged in a federal lawsuit Thursday.
“Our Constitution forbids this,” the group said in the complaint. “None of our laws require businesses to ‘card’ people before they can enter bookstores and shopping malls. The First Amendment prohibits such oppressive laws as much in cyberspace as ...