Texas cannot enforce a law requiring websites to monitor and filter content for minors. On July 2026, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the monitoring and filtering requirement of the Texas SCOPE Act is preempted by Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act. The ruling blocks a key provision that would have forced platforms to censor broad categories of lawful speech, as NetChoice stated. For business owners, this means no new compliance burden for content filtering—at least for now.
What Happened
The Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act) required social media platforms and other digital service providers to prevent minors from seeing content defined as harmful, including obscenity, suicide promotion, and harassment. Tech industry groups CCIA and NetChoice challenged the law, winning a preliminary injunction in August 2024. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed, but the 5th Circuit upheld the injunction, finding that the filtering mandate conflicts with Section 230's immunity for publishers of third-party content.
What This Means for Your Business
If you run a website or app that hosts user-generated content, this ruling removes the immediate threat of having to implement expensive content-filtering systems for Texas users. However, other parts of the SCOPE Act remain enforceable: age verification, restrictions on targeted ads to minors, and obligations to prevent advertisers from targeting minors with illegal products. Platforms must still comply with those requirements. The ruling does not affect businesses that do not collect personal information from minors or operate outside Texas.
Strategic Implications
This decision reinforces the broad interpretation of Section 230, discouraging other states from passing similar content-filtering laws. It also highlights the tension between state child safety efforts and federal immunity. Expect continued legal battles and potential calls for Congress to update Section 230. For now, platforms retain editorial discretion without state-mandated censorship.
Your Move
Review your current age verification and ad targeting practices to ensure compliance with the remaining SCOPE Act provisions, and monitor for any Supreme Court appeal that could change the landscape.
FAQ
Only if you host user-generated content and operate in Texas. The filtering requirement is blocked, but age verification and ad rules still apply.
Implement age verification for new accounts, avoid targeted ads to known minors, and ensure advertisers don't target minors with illegal products.
