Texas to require age verification for app purchases | Social Media

Law to take effect on January 1 has support of social media companies, but Apple and Google oppose it.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second most populous state in the United States at the centre of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers.

The bill was signed into law on Tuesday.

The law, which goes into effect on January 1,…