The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice have submitted a response brief in their ongoing First Amendment challenge against Texas HB18, also known as the SCOPE Act. This action follows an August 2024 decision by a Texas district court to block several key components of the law from taking effect. The state of Texas has since appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, with its appellate brief filed in April 2025.
The CCIA and NetChoice argue that the SCOPE Act seeks to limit or ban access to protected online speech, which they contend is a violation of the First Amendment based on a Supreme Court test reiterated in the July 1, 2024 Moody v. NetChoice/CCIA opinion.
Stephanie Joyce, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at CCIA, stated: “The SCOPE Act’s requirements to monitor, filter, and block internet content deserve stringent First Amendment scrutiny, which they cannot survive. The district court’s decision to block these requirements was in keeping with federal law and we ask the appeals court to uphold that decision. We look forward to pursuing our legal challenge to a final judgment that this law is unconstitutional.”
The case remains under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.