In Friday’s decision, the justices noted the difference between the age verification requirement in the porn website case and the content filtering rule in the new case. “Unlike the age-verification requirement we address in this case, (the MAIN ACTION Act’s) monitoring and filtering requirement applies to content filtering and is therefore preempted,” they said.
The 5th Circuit and other appeals courts have “interpreted Section 230 to provide DSPs with “broad immunity” from “all claims arising from the publication of data generated by third parties,” the 5th Circuit panel said. State law required websites to prevent exposure of known minors to material deemed obscene under Texas law and other content that “promotes, glorifies or facilitates” suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, stalking, violence.
Paxton argued Texas law states that they are not liable for any damages from content they host. According to him, the law “imposes an obligation of compliance, not publisher responsibility” and is consistent with the child protection objectives of Section 230 because the law is not preempted.
Other parts of the law may apply
The 5th Circuit judges rejected Paxton’s argument. They said the law provides enforcement against violations by the attorney general’s office and allows parents of minors to sue for declaratory judgments and injunctions.
“Actions to enforce the monitoring and filtering requirement are claims arising out of DSPs’ actions as publishers, namely their monitoring, verification and removal of content, and are thus categorically preempted by Section 230,” he said.
Friday’s ruling wasn’t a total loss for Paxton, as the 5th Circuit found that one student group lacked standing to challenge the Texas law, meaning other parts of the law could apply. These require platforms to register users’ ages before creating accounts, not to display ads directed at known minors, to use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent advertisers from targeting known minors with ads for illegal products or activities, and to verify that users are 18 or older if more than one-third of the content on the platform is obscene.
