5th Circuit blocks Texas law requiring websites to filter "harmful" speech

In a Friday ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Texas's Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act—the SCOPE Act. Ars Technica reports the court decided the law's requirement that websites monitor and filter harmful speech for minors violates Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act. Tech groups including the Computer and Communications Industry Association challenged the law, and judges ruled two-to-one in their favor. The decision prevents Texas from enforcing the monitoring rules against websites and apps that collect personal information from children.

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