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Students and Big Tech are taking on Texas app store age verification law

Students and Big Tech are taking on Texas app store age verification law

What do Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon have in common with an advocacy group called Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) that represents students? They are all taking on the Texas App Store Accountability Act, a law that requires age verification from users in the state of Texas in order to download apps in app stores.

As Engadget reports, SEAT and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) have filed two separate lawsuits against the state to prevent the law from taking effect in Texas on January 1, 2026. 

CCIA has several Big Tech companies as members, including Apple, Google, Meta, Intel, Shopify, Amazon, and Uber.

The Texas App Store Accountability Act was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in May. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly contacted Governor Abbott directly to try to convince him to veto the bill or alter parts of it. The law requires that companies that operate app stores, like Apple and Google, verify users’ age before downloading apps or making in-app purchases. If a user is a minor, parental approval is required before any download or purchase is made.

App stores like Apple’s App Store already provide users with parental controls that require kids to get approval before downloading apps or making purchases. However, those parental controls are optional, and parents must set them up themselves.

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The law wouldn’t make those parental controls optional in Texas. In fact, it goes a step further and requires companies like Apple and Google to verify every user’s age before they are allowed to download or purchase anything from the App Store. 

Online age verification processes require users to provide a form of government ID to a platform in order to use the service. As with all online age verification processes, there are concerns over user data privacy and systems mistaking legal adults for underage users. 

“The First Amendment does not permit the government to require teenagers to get their parents’ permission before accessing information, except in discrete categories like obscenity,” said Ambika Kumar, a lawyer for the students’ organization SEAT. “The Constitution also forbids restricting adults’ access to speech in the name of protecting children. This law imposes a system of prior restraint on protected expression that is presumptively unconstitutional.”

The CCIA has also put out a press release concerning its own lawsuit against the state over the law.

“We support online protections for younger internet users, and those protections should not come at the expense of free expression and personal privacy,” senior vice president and chief of staff for the CCIA Stephanie Joyce said in a press release put out by the group. 

“This Texas law violates the First Amendment by restricting app stores from offering lawful content, preventing users from seeing that content, and compelling app developers to speak of their offerings in a way pleasing to the state,” she continued. “That is why we are asking the court to strike down this law and to block it from being enforced while we demonstrate how severely it violates the U.S. Constitution.”

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#Students #Big #Tech #Texas #app #store #age #verification #law

SAVE 26%: As of July 27, you can get the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.


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Amazon’s running a limited-time deal (you have about 14 hours left) on the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower. Right now, you can get it for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.

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#Ecovacs #Goat #A3000 #robot #lawn #mower #deal">Ecovacs Goat A3000 robot lawn mower deal
                                                            SAVE 26%: As of July 27, you can get the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower for ,849 at Amazon, down from ,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or 0.99 in savings.
    
    
                                                        
    
                                        
    
        
                                        
                                        
                    
                                                    ,849
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                                                        ,499.99
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Pushing a heavy lawn mower through thick grass in the peak of summer heat is nobody’s idea of a good weekend. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to hand off your yard chores to a robot, now’s the time to pull out your wallet. 
        SEE ALSO:
        
            If you’re heading off-grid this summer, grab DJI’s portable power station while it’s half price
            
        
    
Amazon’s running a limited-time deal (you have about 14 hours left) on the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower. Right now, you can get it for ,849 at Amazon, down from ,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or 0.99 in savings.
        
            Mashable Trend Report
        
        
    
Unlike older robotic mowers that require you to bury perimeter wires around your property, the Goat A3000 uses wire-free HoloScope 360 Dual-LiDAR navigation and an AI camera. It automatically maps yards up to 3/4 acre and maintains positioning accuracy within less than an inch, even under dense tree cover or along shaded fences. 
It also features a built-in TruEdge trimmer to clean up borders along driveways and garden beds, a 32V power system designed for thick grass types like Bermuda or St. Augustine, and a 7,500 mAh battery that recharges in 70 minutes.

                    
                                    #Ecovacs #Goat #A3000 #robot #lawn #mower #deal

Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.


$1,849 at Amazon
$2,499.99 Save $650.99

 

Pushing a heavy lawn mower through thick grass in the peak of summer heat is nobody’s idea of a good weekend. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to hand off your yard chores to a robot, now’s the time to pull out your wallet.

Amazon’s running a limited-time deal (you have about 14 hours left) on the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower. Right now, you can get it for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.

Unlike older robotic mowers that require you to bury perimeter wires around your property, the Goat A3000 uses wire-free HoloScope 360 Dual-LiDAR navigation and an AI camera. It automatically maps yards up to 3/4 acre and maintains positioning accuracy within less than an inch, even under dense tree cover or along shaded fences.

It also features a built-in TruEdge trimmer to clean up borders along driveways and garden beds, a 32V power system designed for thick grass types like Bermuda or St. Augustine, and a 7,500 mAh battery that recharges in 70 minutes.

#Ecovacs #Goat #A3000 #robot #lawn #mower #deal">Ecovacs Goat A3000 robot lawn mower deal

SAVE 26%: As of July 27, you can get the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.


$1,849 at Amazon
$2,499.99 Save $650.99

 

Pushing a heavy lawn mower through thick grass in the peak of summer heat is nobody’s idea of a good weekend. If you’ve been waiting for a reason to hand off your yard chores to a robot, now’s the time to pull out your wallet.

Amazon’s running a limited-time deal (you have about 14 hours left) on the Ecovacs Goat A3000 LiDAR Pro robotic lawn mower. Right now, you can get it for $1,849 at Amazon, down from $2,499.99. That’s a 26% discount or $650.99 in savings.

Unlike older robotic mowers that require you to bury perimeter wires around your property, the Goat A3000 uses wire-free HoloScope 360 Dual-LiDAR navigation and an AI camera. It automatically maps yards up to 3/4 acre and maintains positioning accuracy within less than an inch, even under dense tree cover or along shaded fences.

It also features a built-in TruEdge trimmer to clean up borders along driveways and garden beds, a 32V power system designed for thick grass types like Bermuda or St. Augustine, and a 7,500 mAh battery that recharges in 70 minutes.

#Ecovacs #Goat #A3000 #robot #lawn #mower #deal
Nvidia on Monday said it is joining forces with Microsoft, SpaceX, IBM, and other tech companies to build and share open-source AI security tools.

The new Open Secure AI Alliance said open tools are required to effectively defend against attacks from frontier models. The initiative is a direct response to mounting concerns over the safety of advanced AI systems after a rogue OpenAI model escaped containment and attacked another company during testing. That company, Hugging Face, said it was forced to use a Chinese open-weight model to defend itself due to the strict safety guardrails limiting the usefulness of top US models.

Founding members include Palantir, OpenClaw, the Linux Foundation, Cloudflare, Cloudera, Dell, Cisco, Adobe, Siemens, and DoorDash. Conspicuously absent are leading US AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

The alliance arrives amid growing tensions over whether the world’s most capable AI models should remain open. Chinese companies have released increasingly powerful open-weight models, notably Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, challenging the strategy pursued by US labs that have largely kept frontier systems closed and proprietary. Nvidia and its partners argue that securing AI requires access to both closed and open models, stressing that defenders need the tools to counter emerging threats.

The announcement also follows reports that the Trump administration considered restricting access to cutting-edge Chinese models and an industry movement — again spearheaded by Nvidia — defending the need for openness in AI. Google and OpenAI signed that letter belatedly, too, though Anthropic remains absent.

#Nvidia #Microsoft #launch #open #security #alliance #OpenAI #Google #AnthropicAI,News,Nvidia,Tech">Nvidia, Microsoft launch open AI security alliance — without OpenAI, Google, or AnthropicNvidia on Monday said it is joining forces with Microsoft, SpaceX, IBM, and other tech companies to build and share open-source AI security tools.The new Open Secure AI Alliance said open tools are required to effectively defend against attacks from frontier models. The initiative is a direct response to mounting concerns over the safety of advanced AI systems after a rogue OpenAI model escaped containment and attacked another company during testing. That company, Hugging Face, said it was forced to use a Chinese open-weight model to defend itself due to the strict safety guardrails limiting the usefulness of top US models.Founding members include Palantir, OpenClaw, the Linux Foundation, Cloudflare, Cloudera, Dell, Cisco, Adobe, Siemens, and DoorDash. Conspicuously absent are leading US AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.The alliance arrives amid growing tensions over whether the world’s most capable AI models should remain open. Chinese companies have released increasingly powerful open-weight models, notably Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, challenging the strategy pursued by US labs that have largely kept frontier systems closed and proprietary. Nvidia and its partners argue that securing AI requires access to both closed and open models, stressing that defenders need the tools to counter emerging threats.The announcement also follows reports that the Trump administration considered restricting access to cutting-edge Chinese models and an industry movement — again spearheaded by Nvidia — defending the need for openness in AI. Google and OpenAI signed that letter belatedly, too, though Anthropic remains absent.#Nvidia #Microsoft #launch #open #security #alliance #OpenAI #Google #AnthropicAI,News,Nvidia,Tech

said it is joining forces with Microsoft, SpaceX, IBM, and other tech companies to build and share open-source AI security tools.

The new Open Secure AI Alliance said open tools are required to effectively defend against attacks from frontier models. The initiative is a direct response to mounting concerns over the safety of advanced AI systems after a rogue OpenAI model escaped containment and attacked another company during testing. That company, Hugging Face, said it was forced to use a Chinese open-weight model to defend itself due to the strict safety guardrails limiting the usefulness of top US models.

Founding members include Palantir, OpenClaw, the Linux Foundation, Cloudflare, Cloudera, Dell, Cisco, Adobe, Siemens, and DoorDash. Conspicuously absent are leading US AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

The alliance arrives amid growing tensions over whether the world’s most capable AI models should remain open. Chinese companies have released increasingly powerful open-weight models, notably Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, challenging the strategy pursued by US labs that have largely kept frontier systems closed and proprietary. Nvidia and its partners argue that securing AI requires access to both closed and open models, stressing that defenders need the tools to counter emerging threats.

The announcement also follows reports that the Trump administration considered restricting access to cutting-edge Chinese models and an industry movement — again spearheaded by Nvidia — defending the need for openness in AI. Google and OpenAI signed that letter belatedly, too, though Anthropic remains absent.

#Nvidia #Microsoft #launch #open #security #alliance #OpenAI #Google #AnthropicAI,News,Nvidia,Tech">Nvidia, Microsoft launch open AI security alliance — without OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic

Nvidia on Monday said it is joining forces with Microsoft, SpaceX, IBM, and other tech companies to build and share open-source AI security tools.

The new Open Secure AI Alliance said open tools are required to effectively defend against attacks from frontier models. The initiative is a direct response to mounting concerns over the safety of advanced AI systems after a rogue OpenAI model escaped containment and attacked another company during testing. That company, Hugging Face, said it was forced to use a Chinese open-weight model to defend itself due to the strict safety guardrails limiting the usefulness of top US models.

Founding members include Palantir, OpenClaw, the Linux Foundation, Cloudflare, Cloudera, Dell, Cisco, Adobe, Siemens, and DoorDash. Conspicuously absent are leading US AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

The alliance arrives amid growing tensions over whether the world’s most capable AI models should remain open. Chinese companies have released increasingly powerful open-weight models, notably Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, challenging the strategy pursued by US labs that have largely kept frontier systems closed and proprietary. Nvidia and its partners argue that securing AI requires access to both closed and open models, stressing that defenders need the tools to counter emerging threats.

The announcement also follows reports that the Trump administration considered restricting access to cutting-edge Chinese models and an industry movement — again spearheaded by Nvidia — defending the need for openness in AI. Google and OpenAI signed that letter belatedly, too, though Anthropic remains absent.

#Nvidia #Microsoft #launch #open #security #alliance #OpenAI #Google #AnthropicAI,News,Nvidia,Tech

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