5th Circuit Court rules against Texas law requiring websites to filter harmful speech

The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled on July 27, 2026, that Texas cannot enforce a law requiring websites to block minors from accessing harmful speech. The court's decision came in response to a challenge from tech industry groups against the Texas law, which mandated that certain social media-based digital service providers (DSPs) monitor and filter content to prevent minors from exposure to potentially harmful speech. The judges, in a 2-1 ruling, stated that the monitoring and filtering requirement is preempted by Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice had previously obtained a preliminary injunction from a district court against the enforcement of the law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's appeal to the 5th Circuit was unsuccessful in reversing this injunction.