US appeals court mulls constitutionality of Texas app store law
By Mike Swift ( August 4, 2026, 21:28 GMT | Insight) -- A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dug into debate Tuesday over the constitutionality of the Texas App Store Accountability Act, with the court hearing argument on whether app stores have the First Amendment protections of a bookstore, or of a shopping mall stuffed with an infinite variety of shops. The Fifth Circuit panel appeared to be eyeing whether to remand the case back to a district court judge who blocked it at the end of 2025, with instructions to follow the US Supreme Court's Netchoice v Moody order to weigh potential constitutional versus unconstitutional applications of the Texas law.Whether app stores run by Apple and Google possess the First Amendment protections of a bookstore, or of a shopping mall stuffed with an infinite variety of shops, formed the heart of debate before a US appeals court on Tuesday in a constitutional challenge to a controversial Texas law....
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