Texas Social Media Law Partially Blocked Over Content Filtering

According to a report from The Verge , a US federal judge has ruled that content moderation and filtering by social media platforms can pose a threat to online expression. The judge made the ruling in a case brought by tech industry groups NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) — which counts Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and X as members — against the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.

The law (also known as H18) says that platforms must prevent minors from being exposed to content that “promotes, glorifies, or facilitates suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, stalking, bullying, intimidation, grooming, human trafficking, child pornography, or other sexual exploitation or abuse.” It also requires platforms to verify the age of their users and provide parents with parental controls so they can monitor their children’s online activity. Further, any digital service that knowingly publishes/distributes harmful or obscene content must use a commercially reasonable method to verify that users accessing it are over the age of 18.

The U.S. judge issued an injunction on the law’s content monitoring and filtering requirements, while leaving other aspects, such as age verification, in place. He argued that the law would impose content moderation on social media platforms, while allowing traditional media to continue discussing the same topics without such restrictions. “In its effort to block children from accessing harmful content, Texas also prohibits minors from participating in the democratic exchange of opinions online,” he said, adding that even if a teen was banned from accessing certain content online, they could still access it through traditional media such as books.

The Case Against the SCOPE Act:

In the lawsuit challenging the law, NetChoice and CCIA argue that the law would make it harder for minors to access social media platforms. They also noted that the law excludes websites that provide a user with access to news, sports and commerce and does not allow any interaction at all. The organizations said that minors could continue to access content that is expressly prohibited under the law on unregulated websites.

The two further criticized the law for blocking minors from accessing information. They argued that both the blocking of access to information and the government mandate that websites collect personal information for age and familial verification violate the First Amendment. NetChoice and CCIA had previously filed a case against another Texas social media law, known as HB 20, which sought to restrict social media platforms from censoring and banning users based on their “views.” In that case, the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the two organizations, arguing that the First Amendment protects a platform’s editorial decisions.