The SCOPE Act - New Texas law requires parental approval for child social media accounts
DALLAS - A Texas law requiring parental consent for children to create a social media account is now in effect partially. "Parents would be given the authority to consent to the platforms their children interact with online," said North Texas Republican Rep. Shelby Slawson, who authored House bill 18 that Gov. Greg Abbott signed in 2023. The SCOPE Act or the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act is a piece of U.S. legislation introduced to enhance consumer protections against harmful online practices. The act is primarily focused on regulating online platforms and marketplaces to prevent deceptive or dangerous product listings. It is part of a growing wave by lawmakers in multiple states to give more power to parents when it comes to their children’s digital footprint. In a committee hearing last year, Slawson described wide-ranging threats from unmonitored social media use, including cyberbullying and child predators. "A Texas teenager was rescue