Texas AG Asks 5th Circuit to Reverse Preliminary Injunction on Age-Verification Law
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday to remove a preliminary injunction on a Texas law requiring age verification before accessing many platforms, websites and digital services. Granting Paxton's request would reverse the previous ruling of the U.S. District Court for Western Texas. That court erred when it determined the law triggered strict scrutiny and labeled it “vague,” Paxton argued.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
“HB-18’s threshold coverage definitions -- the provisions defining which [digital service providers (DSPs)] the law regulates -- themselves content-based,” should not trigger strict scrutiny of the whole law, though the district court said it did, Paxton said. “The definitions distinguish between platforms based on their mediums, not speech content, and thus are permissible.”
When discussing vagueness, “terms like 'promote' and 'glorify' are clear under Texas law and industry practice, and used in the content-moderation policies of many DSPs,” said Paxton. “The targeted-advertising provisions and obscenity provision are similarly precise, targeting only unlawful or obscene content, neither of which is vague even in the more exacting criminal context.”
The state's "interests in protecting children far outweigh plaintiffs’ speculative, premature speech harms,” so the 5th Circuit should reverse the district court ruling "to uphold Texas’s compelling interest in protecting children from insidious online harms,” he said. Even if the 5th Circuit finds certain provisions of HB-18 unconstitutional, it should only enjoin those provisions, and leave the rest, "thus maintaining Texas’s vital interest in child safety.”
HB-18, the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, aims to protect minors from harmful data collection practices and content by verifying the age of users on certain digital services covered by the law, and requiring parental consent for those under age 18.
CCIA and NetChoice filed their complaint against the AG in July 2024, alleging the law violates the First Amendment by attempting to regulate online speech and access to that speech and information. Moreover, they said, the collection of personal information raises privacy risks. District Judge Robert Pitman partially granted the preliminary injunction, in August 2024, ruling that it was content-based and subject to strict scrutiny. Pitman found the associations showed the restrictions on speech failed strict scrutiny, and enjoined Paxton from enforcing certain aspects of the law.