Texas app store age verification law blocked by federal judge • Hacker News Board

Re: Texas app store age verification law blocked by federal judge

#261

Post by triceratops » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 5:35 PM UTC

heavyset_go wrote: post #242

triceratops wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never had my ID recorded at any liquor store in my life. I've bought alcohol in multiple countries. If that happens where you live I'd fight to have that practice banned legally for alcohol and tobacco purchases. Stores are definitely selling it to insurance companies. Also after I had a certain number of birthdays, clerks have stopped demanding my ID. So my purchases are pretty much anonymous. The card should b…

In my state, they scan your ID and check it with the state's database. Store policy is usually to do it for everyone , even if they obviously are above the age of 21, and the state mandates ID checks for anyone suspected to be 27 or below.

So change the law in your state.

Re: Texas app store age verification law blocked by federal judge

#262

Post by IAmBroom » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 10:14 PM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #186

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #2

Judge Robert Pitman said that it violates the First Amendment and is "more likely than not - unconstitutional." The Act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book. We enjoy 1A protections of speech and assembly. When we consider our rights,…

This protection is not provided by judges or the Bill of Rights. It’s provided by the attitude and behaviours of all Americans. If enough Americans start treating 1A as conditional, the court decisions will slowly start reflecting that. The system won’t protect the people from themselves.

That presumes that SCOTUS represents the "general" attitudes of all Americans. But when they overturned Roe v. Wade, they explicitly went against the majority consensus of Americans.

General != majority, but SCOTUS is not a gauge of American opinion. Perhaps a better example is Brown v. Board of Education, at a time when a very large portion of the public was not in favor of integrating the races in public schools.

TL;DR: Protection is absolutely provided by the courts, which is the highest authority on what the Constitution (and Amendments) and other laws mean.

Re: Texas app store age verification law blocked by federal judge

#263

Post by IAmBroom » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC

dnautics wrote: post #222

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #2

Judge Robert Pitman said that it violates the First Amendment and is "more likely than not - unconstitutional." The Act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book. We enjoy 1A protections of speech and assembly. When we consider our rights,…

Not defending the law but questioning your interpretation. Does requiring by law an age of 21 to enter a bar violate freedom of assembly? Lots of important political events and discussion historically in the US have occurred at taverns.

"Have occurred" probably mostly includes incidents before children were legally forbidden from bars. The 21yo limitation as a uniform restriction only dates back to circa 1980s.