A federal appeals court had allowed Texas to require app stores to verify users’ ages and seek parental consent before a minor can download apps while litigation continues.
Paul Cobler
Paul Cobler is the Tribune's economy and industry reporter, covering the socioeconomic and political forces that impact Texans’ pocketbooks and upward mobility. Before joining the Tribune, he was a politics reporter for the Houston Landing and covered Baton Rouge City Hall for The Advocate in Louisiana. Paul grew up in Victoria, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. His reporting has appeared in news publications across the state, including the Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. He is based in Austin.
Posted in
Economy
Rising healthcare costs are straining Texas businesses as the Legislature seeks solutions
Lawmakers and experts pin the blame for rising insurance costs on health companies consolidating and creating less competition.
Posted in
Economy
Texas Stock Exchange launches trading in test of upstart’s challenge to Wall Street
The exchange represents the most well-funded challenge to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ duopoly of U.S. stock trading.
Posted in
Data Centers in Texas
Data centers not welcome: New poll shows most Texans oppose them in their communities
Opposition was most intense in rural counties. Texas is poised to be the No. 1 market for data centers in the U.S., with the most planned projects of any state.
Posted in
Energy
As data centers seek to tap Texas’ energy, grid regulators are close to approving a new way of vetting requests
The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday will weigh and vote on ERCOT’s proposal to streamline the power approval process for data centers.
Posted in
Economy
No fat to trim: Texas beef industry profits eaten away by new threat — the screwworm
Drought, wildfire, tariffs and now screwworm are straining the beef industry in Texas as the U.S. herd reaches its smallest point in 75 years.
Posted in
Economy
Big Tech finds a foe in Texas’ robust consumer protection laws and AG Ken Paxton
Paxton is banking on his recent lawsuits against tech and social media companies like Meta, WhatsApp and Discord to win a Senate seat, building on notable victories in years past.
Posted in
State Government
Texas sues Discord, arguing online messaging platform endangered children, misled users
The lawsuit comes after a Galveston County family said their 13-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a person she interacted with on the platform.
Posted in
State Government
WhatsApp, Meta can access Texans’ private messages, AG Ken Paxton claims in lawsuit
The attorney general’s office argues WhatsApp and parent company Meta are deceiving users by claiming the companies can’t view their encrypted messages.
Posted in
Economy
Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers say
Some smoke shops say the flurry of court actions since March 31 has already forced them to scale back hours, cut staff and prepare to shut down.
