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, requires parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users aged below 18. Utah was the first US state to pass a similar law this year, and US lawmakers have also introduced a federal bill.
Another Texas bill, passed in the state’s House of Representatives and awaiting a Senate vote, would restrict social media apps to users over the age of 18.
Wide support
Age limits and parental consent for social media apps are among the few areas of wide US consensus. A Pew Research poll in 2023 indicated that 81 percent of Americans support requiring parental consent for children to create social media accounts and 71 percent supported age verification before using social media.
The effect of social media on children’s mental health has become a growing global concern. Dozens of US states have sued Meta Platforms, and the US surgeon general has issued an advisory on safeguards for children. Australia last year banned social media for children under 16, with other countries such as Norway also considering new rules.
How to implement age restrictions has caused a conflict between Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and Apple and Google, which own the two dominant US app stores.
Meta and the social media companies Snap and X applauded the passage of the bill.
“Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognising the central role app stores play,” the companies said.
Kathleen Farley, vice president of litigation for the Chamber of Progress, a group backed by Apple and Alphabet, said the Texas law is likely to face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds.
“A big path for challenge is that it burdens adult speech in attempting to regulate children’s speech,” Farley told the Reuters news agency in an interview on Tuesday. “I would say there are arguments that this is a content-based regulation singling out digital communication.”
Child online safety groups that backed the Texas bill have also long argued for app store age verification, saying it is the only way to give parents effective control over children’s use of technology.
“The problem is that self-regulation in the digital marketplace has failed, where app stores have just prioritised the profit over safety and rights of children and families,” Casey Stefanski, executive director for the Digital Childhood Alliance, told Reuters.
Apple and Google opposed the Texas bill, saying it imposes blanket requirements to share age data with all apps, even when those apps are uncontroversial.
“If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” Apple said in a statement.
Google and Apple each have their own proposal that involves sharing age range data only with apps that require it, rather than all apps.
“We see a role for legislation here,” Kareem Ghanem, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Google, told Reuters.
“It’s just got to be done in the right way, and it’s got to hold the feet of [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg and the social media companies to the fire because it’s the harm to kids and teens on those sites that’s really inspired people to take a closer look here and see how we can all do better.”
Judge says Trump can’t require citizenship proof on federal voting form
NEW YORK — President Trump’s request to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., sided with Democratic and civil rights groups that sued the Trump administration over his executive order to overhaul U.S. elections.
She ruled that the proof-of-citizenship directive is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers, dealing a blow to the administration and its allies who have argued that such a mandate is necessary to restore public confidence that only Americans are voting in U.S. elections.
“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion.
She further emphasized that on matters related to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures “the Constitution assigns no direct role to the President in either domain.”
Kollar-Kotelly echoed comments she made when she granted a preliminary injunction over the issue.
The ruling grants the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment that prohibits the proof-of-citizenship requirement from going into effect. It says the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which has been considering adding the requirement to the federal voter form, is permanently barred from taking action to do so.
A message seeking comment from the White House was not immediately returned.
The lawsuit brought by the DNC and various civil rights groups will continue to play out to allow the judge to consider other challenges to Trump’s order. That includes a requirement that all mailed ballots be received, rather than just postmarked, by Election Day.
Other lawsuits against Trump’s election executive order are ongoing.
In early April, 19 Democratic state attorneys general asked a separate federal court to reject Trump’s executive order. Washington and Oregon, where virtually all voting is done with mailed ballots, followed with their own lawsuit against the order.
Swenson and Riccardi write for the Associated Press.
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‘Not many pub lunches require a trip across the Atlantic’: readers’ favourite UK country pubs with great food | Food and drink
Winning tip: fabulous food and views on a Scottish island
There are not many pub lunches that require a trip across the Atlantic, but to reach Tigh An Truish (a 30-minute drive south of Oban), visitors must cross the 250-year-old Bridge over the Atlantic – Clachan Bridge, which links the west coast of the Scottish mainland to the Isle of Seil. This transatlantic journey is well worth it for delicious and lovingly presented local fare (think Argyll venison and mussels brought into Oban harbour). The pub bustles with visitors and locals, while the adjoining restaurant is a warm space to coorie in from the wild west coast and enjoy the stunning views down the Clachan Sound.
Calum Hamilton
Homegrown ingredients in the South Downs
On a hot July Sunday in 2023 we came across the Sussex Ox at the foot of the hills that lead up to the Long Man of Wilmington, near Alfriston, in East Sussex. Following a path from close to the pub, we climbed the hill to get close to the mysterious figure cut into the hillside and fell in love with the view. Galloping back down for lunch at the pub, we encountered a horse in its garden and its rider happily sipping a pint – a sight that seemed to symbolise what makes a great country pub. But the best was yet to come: a Sunday lunch with many of the ingredients coming from the pub’s own farm in Jevington, grass-fed and sustainably reared. Big, complex flavours in classic Sunday roasts testified to the wisdom of this approach. Ales are from the Long Man brewery. Vintage crockery and charming staff completed our wholly satisfying afternoon. We have returned many times since as we keep being drawn back to South Downs walks and this picturesque and wholly hospitable country pub.
Noreen Meehan
Puddings to die for in Monmouthshire
I find everything about the Angel Inn at Grosmont near Abergavenny to my liking. Centrally located in an ancient village set in glorious walking countryside, there is also a castle nearby where children can play while adults linger over drinks. The food is varied, generous and beautifully cooked by chef Jim Hamilton, with puddings to die for. The Angel Inn is also a friendly pub used by the community, with chess nights, quizzes and live music. There’s a central open fire, local beers, dogs, books and Welsh-language clubs. It is never cliquey and everyone is made to feel welcome.
Clare
Sea bass after a long walk in foodie Ceredigion
Y Talbot, in Tregaron, west Wales, led the charge in making Ceredigion a great foodie location, and they’ve kept up the quality. Steaks are a speciality, plus high quality favourites such as slow-cooked Welsh lamb and beautifully prepared sea bass. Seasonal dishes use local produce and there are also lovely rooms. The pub is great to visit after a long walk (I really recommend Cors Caron nature reserve with its peat bogs, ponds and walkways). It’s a dog-friendly place with beers from breweries like Wye Valley, Mantle and Purple Moose.
Maisie Baynham
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Readers’ tips: send a tip for a chance to win a £200 voucher for a Coolstays break
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Guardian Travel readers’ tips
Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit the readers’ tips homepage
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Homemade pies in North Yorkshire
Walking into the Craven Arms in Appletreewick is like being wrapped up in the arms of a best friend. Its cosy and traditional decor is instantly warming, and if you take a look around you’ll see fellow punters with a rather smug expression; nobody can believe how lucky they are. Hot homemade pies smothered in rich gravy warm you up in winter. Fresh sandwiches stuffed with quality local ingredients fill you up in summer. Perch outside and you’ll dine with a backdrop of rolling Yorkshire hills.
George
The Swan Inn at Kettleshulme in the Peak District is a 15th-century village pub that has been reinvigorated after being saved from closure by a community buyout some years ago. The bar area is still original, with an open fire, but the restaurant is in a stunning new extension. The food is amazing with a surprising range of fish dishes for somewhere so far from the sea – the bouillabaisse is wonderful, as is the meat cooked on a Josper grill. And there are three gorgeous bedrooms if you want to stay the night.
Don Berry
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A hillside haven on the edge of Dartmoor
On the northern edge of Dartmoor, Belstone is a place where wily winds whisper secrets, and views sweep you off your feet. Perched on a Dartmoor hillside, the Tors inn is a haven of fine local fare, and the menu names all of the suppliers on a map. Fans of smoky flavours will appreciate the kitchen’s passion for smoking slow and low. Sunday roasts are a highlight, with tender meat paired with a vibrant variety of seasonal veggies, roasted to perfection. After a moorland stomp, rest weary feet and indulge in these tasty treats, followed by a decadent and comforting slice of sticky toffee pudding. Your senses will thank you as nature and nurture entwine in this hillside haven.
Laura
A welcoming candlelit bar in Cornwall
Set back from its greenstone, basaltic headland namesake, the gorse-yellow Gurnard’s Head is a welcome beacon. Step in off the moors between St Ives and St Just and you’ll be welcomed by a candlelit bar stocked with local Cornish ales and wines. Stop for a coffee, a seasonal supper of local produce, or stay the night if you can’t face leaving the warmth of the open fire. Definitely worth a short detour, whether you’re hiking the South West Coast path, cycling the West Kernow Way or driving down to Land’s End.
Helen
A cosy fire and excellent food in Norfolk
If you love beach walks, sand dunes and seals, you will love the Nelson Head in Horsey. This small pub with a cosy fire serves excellent classics such as steak pie and chilli con carne in rooms full of atmosphere, with old muskets and antique paraphernalia adorning the walls. A lovely mown field opposite with a marquee and picnic benches enables you to gaze at distant church spires while you sip your beverage.
Peter
Game, seafood and souffle in Northumberland
The Kirkstyle Inn in Slaggyford overlooks the beautiful River South Tyne, midway between Alston and Brampton. The journey there alone is well worth the trip, weaving through the once-industrial valley. The hospitality is friendly and informal, the menu is locally sourced, specialising in game (rabbit terrine, pigeon pie, grouse with blewit mushrooms) with some good seafood. It is expertly cooked, the wine list is impressive and the beer locally brewed at Twice Brewed. The Sunday lunch is generous and the best I have been served, and whisper a small prayer that the rhubarb souffle is on the dessert menu.
Alex Docton
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Countries that could require your photo and fingerprints from next month – full list
The European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will begin next month, which will change requirements for British citizens travelling to the Schengen area
Next month the European Union‘s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will commence. This represents a fresh digital border system that will alter requirements for British citizens journeying to the Schengen area.
The Schengen area permits more than 450 million people to move freely between member countries without passing through border controls. From October 12, if you are travelling to a country in the Schengen area for a short stay using a UK passport, you will be required to register your biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photo, when you arrive.
You do not need to take any action before you arrive at the border, and there is no cost for EES registration. Guidance on Gov.uk states: “After it is fully implemented, EES registration will replace the current system of manually stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU. “.
READ MORE: Extra Ryanair fee parents can expect to be hit withREAD MORE: October travel rule change warning as ‘families could miss flights’
When EES is launched, you may need to establish a digital record on your first visit to the Schengen area at the port or airport upon arrival, reports the Liverpool Echo.
You will need to submit your fingerprints and have your photograph taken at dedicated booths. The government has also revealed that if you enter the Schengen area through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or St Pancras International, EES checks will be completed at the border, before you depart the UK.
Your digital EES record remains valid for 3 years. If you enter the Schengen area again during this period, you will only need to provide a fingerprint or photo at the border, when you enter and exit.
The 29 countries in the Schengen area are:
If you are travelling by air to a Schengen zone nation, you might face extended waiting times upon arrival at your destination. The fresh system is being rolled out to strengthen border security across the EU and its surrounding nations.
It could also prove useful in cutting down on illegal immigration within the Schengen region. Automated border monitoring procedures will be put in place to assist the EU in preventing visitors from outstaying their welcome.
Your arrivals and departures, or entry denials will be digitally recorded in the EES. The EES system is anticipated to make travel “simplified” and more secure.
Non-EU citizens journeying for brief visits to a European nation using the EES are impacted. Though there are exemptions which can be found here.
If you decline to supply your biometric information, you will be refused entry into the territory of the European countries operating the EES. Your information will only be retained in the system for the reasons it was gathered. The information held in the EES is safeguarded against misuse and access to it is limited to designated personnel within national authorities.
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State Department may require visa applicants to post bond of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S.
WASHINGTON — The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa.
The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal Register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary to ensure that the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.
“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,” the notice said.
The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said.
The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program and could be waived for others depending on an applicant’s individual circumstances.
Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by the public.
However, the department said that previous view “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.”
Lee writes for the Associated Press.
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Stephen Welsh: Celtic defender may require shoulder surgery after recurrence of injury
Welsh has twice been loaned out by Celtic, most recently to Mechelen in the first part of 2025. All in all, he has made 107 competitive appearances.
First-team regular Luke McCowan and 18-year-old defender Colby Donovan scored in Celtic’s 2-1 win at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
“He’s very competitive and I like him,” Rodgers said of Donovan. “He’s very aggressive, he passes forward.
“He’ll become a bit less rash as his career moves forward but I like his personality and I like his dominance and he can play football, which you have to be able to do when you play for Celtic.”
Meanwhile, Sweden defender Gustaf Lagerbielke, 25, has left Celtic to join Braga in Portugal.
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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, requires parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users aged below 18. Utah was the first US state to pass a similar law this year, and US lawmakers have also introduced a federal bill.
Another Texas bill, passed in the state’s House of Representatives and awaiting a Senate vote, would restrict social media apps to users over the age of 18.
Wide support
Age limits and parental consent for social media apps are among the few areas of wide US consensus. A Pew Research poll in 2023 indicated that 81 percent of Americans support requiring parental consent for children to create social media accounts and 71 percent supported age verification before using social media.
The effect of social media on children’s mental health has become a growing global concern. Dozens of US states have sued Meta Platforms, and the US surgeon general has issued an advisory on safeguards for children. Australia last year banned social media for children under 16, with other countries such as Norway also considering new rules.
How to implement age restrictions has caused a conflict between Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and Apple and Google, which own the two dominant US app stores.
Meta and the social media companies Snap and X applauded the passage of the bill.
“Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child’s age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognising the central role app stores play,” the companies said.
Kathleen Farley, vice president of litigation for the Chamber of Progress, a group backed by Apple and Alphabet, said the Texas law is likely to face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds.
“A big path for challenge is that it burdens adult speech in attempting to regulate children’s speech,” Farley told the Reuters news agency in an interview on Tuesday. “I would say there are arguments that this is a content-based regulation singling out digital communication.”
Child online safety groups that backed the Texas bill have also long argued for app store age verification, saying it is the only way to give parents effective control over children’s use of technology.
“The problem is that self-regulation in the digital marketplace has failed, where app stores have just prioritised the profit over safety and rights of children and families,” Casey Stefanski, executive director for the Digital Childhood Alliance, told Reuters.
Apple and Google opposed the Texas bill, saying it imposes blanket requirements to share age data with all apps, even when those apps are uncontroversial.
“If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” Apple said in a statement.
Google and Apple each have their own proposal that involves sharing age range data only with apps that require it, rather than all apps.
“We see a role for legislation here,” Kareem Ghanem, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Google, told Reuters.
“It’s just got to be done in the right way, and it’s got to hold the feet of [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg and the social media companies to the fire because it’s the harm to kids and teens on those sites that’s really inspired people to take a closer look here and see how we can all do better.”
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