Contains adult themes: this story covers laws affecting adult (p*rn) websites and platforms. Nothing explicit is described.
In brief: On Oct. 28, Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod granted rehearing en banc in the challenge to Texas’s SCOPE Act (HB 18), vacating a July 24, 2026 panel opinion that had blocked part of the law on Section 230 grounds, AVN reported Nov. 2. Oral argument has not been scheduled. Adult-industry attorney Corey Silverstein told AVN he sees “a substantial risk” the full court will reverse or narrow the panel’s ruling.
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will take another look at Texas’s Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act, better known as the SCOPE Act or HB 18, AVN reported on Nov. 2.
In an Oct. 28 order, Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod granted a petition to rehear the case en banc, meaning before all of the circuit’s active judges rather than a three-judge panel. According to AVN, the order vacated the panel’s July 24, 2026 opinion and directed that the case “shall be reheard by the court en banc with oral argument on a date hereafter to be fixed.” No date has been set.
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What the law does
The SCOPE Act was adopted in 2023 and has been enforced since Sept. 1, 2024. AVN reports that it requires platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data from minors or letting minors create accounts, and that it mandates age verification across a broad range of platform use.
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, as quoted by AVN, reads the law as applying primarily to “digital services that provide an online platform for social interaction between users,” including services that let users create public or semi-public profiles and post content others can see. It also covers “digital services such as message boards, chat rooms, video channels, or a main feed that presents users [with] content created and posted by other users.”
The challenge is two consolidated suits: Computer and Communications Industry Association & NetChoice v. Paxton, and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas et al. v. Paxton. The plaintiffs argue the law violates the rights of adult users.
Why Section 230 is the issue
The vacated July opinion had blocked a content-filtering provision of the law, which AVN describes as in direct conflict with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Section 230, which shields platforms from liability for user content and protects their moderation decisions, has been central to challenges to other Texas age-verification laws, AVN notes.
That history matters to the adult industry. AVN points out that HB 1181, which requires age checks on adult websites, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that an emergency application over SB 2420, the App Store Accountability Act, was denied.
The industry view
Corey Silverstein, an attorney who represents adult-entertainment clients, told AVN the case should be watched closely. “I see a substantial risk that the full Fifth Circuit will reverse or significantly narrow the panel’s Section 230 ruling,” he said. “Granting rehearing signals that a majority of the active judges want to revisit the decision, although it does not establish how they will ultimately vote.”
He said the stakes go beyond Texas. “A ruling that narrows Section 230 protection for content moderation could encourage other states to impose their own filtering mandates,” Silverstein said. “I would take the threat of an adverse ruling seriously, while recognizing that Texas still faces meaningful legal obstacles.”
What happens next
For now, nothing has been decided. The rehearing grant wipes out the panel opinion but does not say how the full court will rule. Oral argument is still to be scheduled, and Channel 304 will follow the case when it is.
Source: AVN, “Fifth Circuit Reconsidering Ruling on Texas AV Law,” by Michael McGrady Jr, Nov. 2, 2026.