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Social networks can’t be forced to filter content for kids, says judge

The Texas law was passed last year.

Called HB 18 or the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, it was signed into law last year and was set to take effect over the weekend on September 1st. On August 30th, Judge Robert Pitman agreed partially to NetChoice’s demands in court, granting an injunction on the monitoring and filtering rules while the case proceeds. While the injunction only covers a portion of the law, it makes HB 18 the latest state-level internet regulation to be at least partially blocked by courts, alongside California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act and other statutes in Arkansas, Ohio and Mississippi.

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