Texas social media law faces First Amendment challenges

DALLAS – A Texas law designed to help parents more closely monitor their children’s social media consumption went somewhat into effect over the weekend, despite a portion of the law’s requirements being blocked by a federal district judge last Friday, according to the Dallas Observer. Judge Robert Pitman blocked a portion of House Bill 18, otherwise known as the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, after finding unconstitutional a provision that would force social media companies to remove harmful content from the feeds of minors. Other details of the law, such as requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before issuing an account to a minor, did go into effect. The injunction was granted after two technology industry companies — Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice — filed a suit in July that argues that HB 18 violates First Amendment rights by monitoring and censoring speech on social media.

A second lawsuit, launched by the free speech advocacy group the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), takes a swing at the entirety of the law. “Texas has jumped on the misguided bandwagon of recent efforts to childproof the internet,” its suit, which is still in the briefing stage, states. “There’s substantial overlap between the two cases, but one of the things that distinguishes them is the fact that we are seeking to have the entire law blocked and not just the portions that were enjoined on Friday,” FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere told the Observer. “This law, like many of the other state laws that have been similarly enjoined around the country, is very well-intentioned, but it is a simplistic solution to a really complicated issue.” Pitman is also the judge overseeing FIRE’s lawsuit, which Corn-Revere said should begin moving forward on a “fairly fast timeline.” The SCOPE act was championed by State Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Republican from Stephenville, and it received overwhelming support last year, passing 125-20 in the Texas House. Slawson said the bill was written to provide “guardrails” to the digital landscape offered to teenagers.