The US Comes into the Fold

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to let a Texas law, requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors’ downloads and purchases, remain in effect has brought a central question of The Grammar of Screens into sharp relief.

Published in May 2026, the book argues that screens are not neutral channels. They operate through a grammar of recommendation engines, personalised feeds, notifications, infinite scroll, and algorithmic curation that shapes attention, judgment, and behaviour.

The Texas case is about more than age verification. It reflects a broader recognition that digital platforms cannot be understood only through the language of free speech or consumer choice. Their design actively influences how people think and act.

If screens are treated like books or newspapers, special safeguards are hard to justify. If they are engineered to capture attention and shape habits, regulation must begin with an understanding of that architecture.

Whether the Texas law ultimately survives constitutional review remains for the courts. The larger question is for everyone else: what kind of minds are being shaped by the grammar of the screen?

In that sense, the United States has come into the fold—not because the issue is settled, but because it is now asking the right question.