We’re testing using AI-powered tools to provide an audio version of this story. While this audio recording is machine-generated, the story was written by human journalists.Two tech industry groups, the Computer and Communications Industry Association andNetChoice, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block a new Texas law that would require platforms like Instagram and Facebook to register the age of all users and get consent from a parent or guardian before minors create an account.
Lawmakers said children’s overexposure to digital platforms resulted in increased rates of self-harm, suicide, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other mental health issues. “Texas parents have had enough,” Slawson said in a statement after the bill was voted out of a House committee.
Under the law, digital service providers would have to get a parent or guardian’s consent before allowing a minor to create an account. And it forces those companies to give parents the ability to supervise the minor’s use of the digital platform. The law also requires social media platforms to figure out ways to prevent children’s exposure to “harmful” material, such as content that promotes self-harm or substance abuse.
Plaintiffs argue that parents already have tools to regulate if and how their minor children use the internet and that the companies they represent effectively moderate their content.“Just like its last attempt, Texas has enacted a law targeting disfavored online publishers and their dissemination of protected, valuable expression online,” the filing states.
What the state says: Attorney General Ken Paxton, named as the defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to The Texas Tribune’s request for comment.HB 18 is part of a growing number of state laws that attempt to regulate how social media companies moderate their content. The outcome of this case could affect other, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin.