Texas SCOPE Act (Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act), House Bill 18
- Country
- United States
- Law / measure
- Texas SCOPE Act (Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act), House Bill 18
- Type
- data-protection
- Enforcement
- compliance
- Status
- Enacted and partially enforced; content monitoring/filtering provisions enjoined
- Date
- 2024-09-01
Summary
The Texas SCOPE Act (HB 18), signed June 13, 2023 and effective September 1, 2024, requires digital service providers that let users create profiles and post user-generated content to protect Texans under 18, restricting the collection, sharing, sale, and disclosure of minors' personal identifying information without parental consent and requiring parental tools. Its 'digital service provider' definition encompasses social platforms such as Reddit, and the Texas Attorney General has treated Reddit as a covered platform. On August 30, 2024, a federal judge preliminarily enjoined the Act's content 'monitoring and filtering' requirements as unconstitutionally vague, while allowing the data-protection provisions to take effect. Additional provisions were further enjoined in early 2025, and litigation continues.