Texas recently passed a law requiring parents to approve children’s app downloads. Here’s why

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot recently signed into law a bill that would require phone users under 18 to seek “parental approval” before they can download apps or make in-app purchases.

Julian Zelizer : Most parents would prefer limiting their children’s phone use, but don’t know how.

He says government has a responsibility to protect moral and mental health of the community, which means regulating products that harm people, especially children.

Zelizer says such laws are the online version of what is already done with offline pornography.