Texas officials urged the Supreme Court to deny emergency petitions filed by a pair of activist groups to stop the implementation of the Lone Star State’s law requiring app stores to verify users’ ages.The Supreme Court is considering a pair of emergency petitions filed by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a left-wing education activist group, and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group for the technology industry, asking it to halt enforcement of Senate Bill 2420, which imposes the age verification requirement on app stores and requires parental permission for minors to download apps, alleging it is a violation of the First Amendment. Texas officials, in their response to the petition, told the high court the restriction is no different than other safeguards implemented by state governments intended to protect minors. “Just as States have long protected minors from alcohol, cigarettes, and other harmful products, S.B. 2420 protects children against dangerous modern products,” said the response from Texas to the high court.The response from Texas Solicitor General William Peterson also noted that the law does not discriminate on the types of apps that require age verification and puts parents in control of which apps their children may download.