Privacy Law Library

Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act

SCOPE Act

Children · Location · Marketing

H.B. 18 (2023) requires covered social platforms to register users' ages, treat users under 18 as known minors, limit collection and sharing of minors' data, block targeted ads and precise geolocation collection for minors, and give verified parents tools and data access. The harmful-content monitoring and filtering duty (509.053) and the related algorithm duty (509.056(1)) remain preliminarily enjoined for CCIA and NetChoice; on July 24, 2026 the Fifth Circuit affirmed that injunction on Section 230 preemption grounds and vacated the broader injunction won by the SEAT plaintiffs (targeted-ads, unlawful-ads, and age-verification provisions).

Where

Texas

Citation

Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 509 (509.001-509.152)

Status

In force

In force since

2024-09-01

Enforced by

Texas Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division (deceptive trade practice)

People can sue

Limited

Penalties

Violations are deceptive trade practices enforced by the attorney general under Bus. & Com. Code ch. 17 subch. E; parents of an affected known minor may sue only for declaratory or injunctive relief, not as a class (509.151-509.152).

Applies to

• Digital service providers whose service lets users socially interact, create public or semi-public profiles, and post content viewable by others (509.002(a))
• Any digital service provider that knowingly publishes material more than one-third of which is harmful or obscene, for the age-verification duty (509.057)
• Excludes state agencies, GLBA and HIPAA entities, small businesses as defined by the SBA, higher education, and other listed entities (509.002(b))