The "People v. Tech" Blog

UPDATE: Is the Texas Government "TikTok" Ban Still a Thing and Does it Involve "Tech Injury"?

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:58:48 GMT

The Texas "TikTok" Ban (Texas Government Code Sec. 620) prohibits the state government's, county government's, agency's and municipality government's tech devices from accessing or downloading the TikTok App but is this restriction still valid?

In an effort to confer accuracy - as to date we have found no litigation by any Texas county, municipality, state agency or university attempting to challenge the Texas' Legislature's efforts to control technology that was purchased by that local government or entity.

But the simple unknown question as of this time is this - "Is such ban's purpose is still valid?". As of January/February 2026 TikTok operations were purchased by a consortium of U.S. based companies with the original connected foreign owners retaining a minority ownership while user data is allegedly being retained and managed on U.S or friendly nation based servers. Yet the original foreign owner still retains ownership of the underlying intellectual property being the underlying algorithm.

Being that the data privacy concerns have been "supposedly" removed - due to now current ownership and location of its managed data - it now calls into question if the underlying basis for such ban still exists.

Time will ultimately inform us if the new and current majority ownership will result in a change or elimination of the Texas TikTok Ban.

"People v. Tech"

What is the Texas SCORE Act and Is It Applicable to "Tech Injury" Outside of Government Action?

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:55:32 GMT

The Texas SCOPE ACT is formally known as the Texas Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act that regulates how certain digital providers interact with minors online. It requires certain age checks, parental oversight tools, limits data use, restricts certain data collection, restricts the sharing of data, prohibits certain content, prohibits certain types of advertisement while providing other broad protections.

Online digital service "Providers" fall under this Act and thus subject to its regulations and penalties. These digital Providers includes but not necessarily limited to entertainment providers that provide content or entertainment. Its reach is generally and potentially broad.

It is important to note that the Provider must first know that they are interacting with a minor through age verification mechanisms and then at that time the above protections fall into play.

The Texas SCOPE ACT is generally enforced by the Texas Attorney General with small openings for relief by the parents of minors harmed or whose protections were violated. Parents can potentially seek injunctive or declaratory relief which aids in the the prevention or removal of continued violations but does not necessarily provide for private monetary damages. Said another way, Tech Injury imposed or incurred by minors must rely on the government or seek limited relief. It is still potentially open to debate and argument (based on outside law, precedent and equity) that a parent seeking injunctive or declaratory relief should likewise be able to recover attorney fees, costs (and potentially certain penalties) as they do not constitute monetary damages. This in theory would assist in alleviating the costs to that parent. Though open to possible construction the ability for a parent with an injured or harmed child to be able to recover attorney fees or costs could potentially be an avenue to stop any continuation of such injury or harm.

"People v. Tech"

Does the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act Apply to "Tech Injury"?

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:23:23 GMT

The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) is an important Texas tool for policing deceptive or unfair technology and data practices, especially where companies misstate, conceal, or mishandle information about collection, use, disclosure, security, or removal of sensitive content. Texas law now expressly ties some technology-specific privacy harms to DTPA liability.

The Texas Civil Practices & Remedies code specifically articulate provisions and damages regarding intimate visual materials; failures involving takedowns; notices and removal processes/systems. This may also include digital services used by minors but it is unclear if these type of actions must be brought the the Texas Attorney General.

Yet it is important to acknowledge that even without specific mention of technology the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act clearly prohibits false, misleading and deceptive conduct broad enough to reach many privacy and technology disputes when the required elements are met. In many aspects recovery for such violations can be broad and can potentially include but not limited to improper data collection, improper geolocation tracking, incognito violations, data breaches, cybersecurity violations, data governance violations, improper biometrics practices, insufficient security safeguards and other digital type service violations or injuries. It is important to remember that any injured party under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act must be a "consumer" which in practice can be fairly broad.

Furthermore, these type of injuries can include those related to technology but not necessarily based only upon that technology itself such as the misrepresentation of the quality or characteristics of goods or services that were or are being displayed digitally via the internet.

Any injured consumer and their attorney need to obtain and develop sufficient and detailed facts as precisely as possible in order to clearly fall under recognized claims. Said another way, ensure that any lawsuit's pleading shows that such violations caused (causation) a consumer's injury.

Finally, though the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act at times may act a stand alone Cause of Action it is generally prudent to combine or tie such violations to other specific precedent or statutory Causes of Action while keeping while also ensuring that no Federal Statutory defenses or permissions allow such activity by the injuring technology company.

In sum, personal injury derived from a consumer's use of technology can potentially recover economic damages and potentially enhanced damages under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

"People v. Tech"

Is the Texas Government "TikTok" Ban Still a Thing and Does it Involve "Tech Injury"?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 20:26:23 GMT

The Texas "TikTok" Ban (Texas Government Code Sec. 620) prohibits the state government's, county government's and municipality government's tech devices from accessing or downloading the TikTok App but is this restriction still valid?

First, remember, this Ban only applies to government owned or leased technology and does not affect personally owned technology unless that personally owned technology is used to conduct government business.

With that said it appears that this Ban continues to live since June 2023. It does not appear that there has been any legislative repeal or court invalidation. The assumption is that this Ban will remain valid as it predominantly involves government owned property.

Our own personal question (purely as an academic exercise) is that under what authority can the Texas Legislature mandate how Texas Counties or Texas Municipalities can utilize their own purchased technology outside of the listed exceptions such as criminal investigation. What if a Texas County or Municipality wants to provide information or emergency updates to its citizens. It is true that there are numerous other social media platforms but TikTok tends to have a defined youthful user base who often obtain their information from TikTok. But again, any desire by a Texas County or Texas Municipality to use TikTok for such purposes would need to address such desire directly with the Texas Legislature or seek relief before the Courts.

So, in sum, its still good law therefore any Texas, county or municipality government employee needs to be sure to comply with such Ban in order to protect your continued employment.

"People v. Tech"