SAN ANTONIO – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and several other legal advocacy groups filed an amicus brief today in CCIA v. Paxton, arguing that a Texas law that restricts social media content for minors violates the First Amendment.
“The government should not be able to decide what’s best for every child,” said Chloe Kempf, staff attorney from the ACLU of Texas. “This law would isolate kids who need community support, hinder families who want their children to learn about the world around them, and open the door to sweeping bans — from Romeo and Juliet to content that is critical of the government. What’s framed as protecting our children is harming them — by censoring their access to the ideas and information they need to prepare for their futures.”
The brief argues that House Bill 18 (“the SCOPE Act”) restricts young people’s ability to use social media and blocks them from viewing content they have a constitutional right to see. The law, which was enjoined by a court last year, would require minors to register their age with social media platforms and would require platforms to filter content based on an overly broad definition of “harmful to minors” that includes any content that “promote, glorifies, or facilitates” a long list of topics, including eating disorders, bullying, and self-harm.
“If allowed to go into effect, this law will stifle young people’s creativity and cut them off from public discourse,” said Lauren Yu (she/her), legal fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The government can’t protect minors by censoring the world around them, or by making it harder for them to discuss their problems with their peers. This law would unconstitutionally limit young people’s ability to express themselves online, develop critical thinking skills, and discover new perspectives, and it would make the entire internet less free for us all in the process.”
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that minors have robust First Amendment rights, including online. Even when the goal is to protect children, the brief argues, the government cannot infringe upon core expressive activity.
The brief was filed in support of Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice. CCIA and NetChoice originally filed suit against H.B. 18 in 2024. The amicus brief was filed in the Western District of Texas and was signed by the Cato Institute, the Student Press Law Center, TechFreedom, Wikimedia, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation.
The brief can be viewed online here: https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/ccia_v._paxton_aclu_et_al_amicus_brief.pdf
