Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has targeted Texas school library books with a list of almost 2,200 titles he wants removed from public school shelves, pressing the case at a press conference last week alongside conservative activist Bonnie Wallace, who described the content as ‘demonic.’
The Texas School Library Books Under Fire
The title receiving the most attention is Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human, a 2021 comic-book-format guide by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan. Its publisher markets it to readers aged 14 and up. The book covers consent, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, setting boundaries, and coping with rejection. Patrick characterised it as ‘dirty, filthy, and vulgar.’
At the press conference, Patrick’s office distributed copies of the book with five pages flagged. According to KXAN, these included: a disclaimer advising readers to consult a medical professional; two pages referencing sex toys; and two pages discussing pornography, noting its potential illegality for minors and its tendency to be unrealistic.
Patrick’s broader list of Texas school library books extends well beyond sex education. The 2,200-title catalogue, which KHOU notes heavily targets LGBTQ+ content, gender identity, and body-awareness titles, also includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Fault in Our Stars, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Bluest Eye, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Glass Menagerie, Flowers for Algernon, and a graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary.
The legal mechanism behind the campaign is Senate Bill 13, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and effective from 1 September 2025. Under that legislation, confirmed by the Texas Library Association, school districts must establish local library advisory councils, adopt a model acquisition policy developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and follow a defined process for challenging existing library materials. Patrick has indicated that legislators will introduce a further bill tying a school’s TEA accountability grade to whether it retains any copy of a challenged book.
Patrick was careful at the press conference to say he was not banning books. The distinction matters legally: the First Amendment constrains outright prohibition. But state-level pressure on thousands of schools, combined with a funding or grading penalty for non-compliance, operates as a powerful lever even without a formal ban. Patrick also complained that some districts have resisted pressure to remove books already flagged, suggesting the campaign is ongoing rather than concluded.
At one point, Patrick told the assembled audience, including female colleagues and reporters, that he had not opened the book for ‘the ladies here’ because it was too obscene for them to view. He offered a similar account of Senate proceedings: ‘I did it without,’ referring to passing SB 13 without showing the content to female senators. The remark, quickly circulated on social media, drew criticism for the paternalism it implied.
Meta’s Child Safety Settlement: A More Complex Picture
Separately, Meta reached a multistate settlement in litigation accusing it of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to addict young users. Early reports, including from Reuters, cited a figure of $16.68 billion. The actual structure, according to the DC Attorney General’s office, is more conditional: a base payment of at least $12.1 billion, with a further $5 billion payable only if other major social media companies adopt equivalent safety features, bringing the potential total to $17.1 billion. CNBC separately reported that Meta described the overall payment as ‘approximately $18 billion,’ to be distributed in annual instalments over ten years to fund youth online safety initiatives. Meta also said it expects to accrue a $10 billion legal expense in the third quarter of 2026.
The DC Attorney General’s office describes the agreement as the largest state consumer protection settlement in history outside the tobacco settlements of the 1990s. NPR reported the settlement resolves claims brought by 51 attorneys general, a figure the California AG’s office confirmed; California AG Rob Bonta co-led the case alongside the AGs from Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky. The case was heard before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California, as the New York Times reported. Meta denied wrongdoing.
Under the settlement, Meta will impose daily usage limits for children, restrict overnight access to Facebook and Instagram, and strengthen measures preventing minors from reaching age-restricted content. DC alone stands to receive between $90,395,940 and $129,356,762, depending on whether the contingent $5 billion tranche is triggered.
Federal Hacking Scrutiny
Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Greg Casar, Ranking Member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, have asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of federal law enforcement hacking of Americans’ devices. Their letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice W. Brown asks GAO to examine how agencies present Rule 41 hacking requests to courts, whether warrant applications disclose operational risks such as data corruption or exposure of non-target data, and whether agencies adequately notify judges when operations may sweep up bystanders. The lawmakers also asked GAO to investigate any documented instances of personnel misusing hacking tools for unauthorised purposes, and how agencies acquire and protect those tools.
On the Texas front, the next legislative session will determine whether Patrick’s proposed accountability-grade penalty advances. If enacted, schools that retain a single copy of any title on the 2,200-item list would face a lower TEA rating, a consequence that would reach districts that have so far declined to comply voluntarily.
