Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Blog

On February 7, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction further blocking enforcement of Texas’ Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (“SCOPE Act”). The SCOPE Act, which was enacted in 2023, imposes obligations on digital service providers to protect minors.

In a separate lawsuit regarding the SCOPE Act (Computer & Communications Industry Association v. Paxton), the District Court enjoined certain provisions of the law before it went into effect. In August 2024, plaintiffs, including a student-run civic engagement organization, a “social-good” advertising company, a mental health content creator and an unidentified high school student, sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block enforcement of the SCOPE Act on the basis that the law is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.

In Students Engaged in Advancing Texas v. Paxton, the District Court ruled that the law is a content-based statute subject to strict scrutiny. The District Court further held that with respect to certain of the SCOPE Act’s monitoring-and-filtering requirements (§ 509.053 and § 509.056(1)), targeted advertising requirements (§ 509.052(2)(D) and § 509.055), and content monitoring and age-verification requirements (§ 509.057), the plaintiffs had carried their burden in showing that the law’s restrictions on speech fail strict scrutiny and should be facially invalidated. The District Court also ruled that § 509.053 and § 509.055 were unconstitutionally vague. Accordingly, the District Court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining Paxton from enforcing those provisions pending final judgment in the case. The remaining provisions of the law remain in effect.