Judge halts Texas law on social media content filtering for minors

A federal judge partially blocked a Texas law over the weekend that required social media platforms to identify minors and filter content for them. The law was set to take effect on September 1.

Called HB 18 or the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, it was signed into law last year.

Groups representing the tech industry sued to prevent the law from taking effect, arguing it restricts free speech.

US District Judge Robert Pitman ruled on August 30 that these provisions could infringe on free speech rights and issued an injunction against them while the case proceeds. He said terms like “promoting” or “glorifying” harmful content are too vague.

However, other parts of the SCOPE Act remain in effect. These include limiting data collection, banning targeted ads for minors, and enforcing age verification for platforms with adult content.

Not just Texas
State laws similar to the SCOPE Act have been put on hold or challenged in California, Arkansas, Ohio and Mississippi courts. These laws are primarily about protecting children online but have faced pushback for potentially limiting what people can see and do on the internet.

At the national level, Congress is working on a similar legislation called the Kids Online Safety Act. Some worry that it might lead to censorship as lawmakers try to address these concerns.