A federal judge in Arkansas has blocked a state law that mandated parental consent for children under 18 to access most social media websites, deeming the law likely unconstitutional.
Judge Timothy Brooks of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas granted a request from tech lobbying group NetChoice to halt the law’s enforcement, preventing it from taking effect on September 1. NetChoice, whose members include Meta, Google, and TikTok, had filed a lawsuit against the state’s attorney general in June, arguing that the law violated the First Amendment.
In his 50-page ruling, Judge Brooks expressed his belief that NetChoice was likely to succeed in proving that the law was unconstitutionally vague and lacked a clear definition of the platforms it applied to. He further asserted that the law would impede both minors’ and adults’ access to free speech. The requirement for adult users to undergo age verification by providing state-approved documents to social media platforms was seen as imposing significant burdens on their ability to access constitutionally protected speech. While the state’s objective of ensuring online safety for children was commendable, Judge Brooks concluded that it did not justify the suppression of speech directed at adults. He also noted that the law was not narrowly tailored to address the state’s claims of online harm to children.
This ruling represents a significant victory for NetChoice, as the judge found that the law likely violated the public’s First Amendment rights. Chris Marchese, director of NetChoice’s litigation center, expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that they looked forward to seeing the law permanently struck down.
Arkansas is among several states that have passed laws aiming to restrict social media access for minors. NetChoice’s success in Arkansas may signal challenges for similar laws in Utah and Louisiana. There is also a bipartisan federal bill introduced to ban children under 13 from using social media, but it has not advanced in committee or gained broad support.
The Arkansas law, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April, initially required social media platforms to use third-party companies for age verification. However, certain major tech companies, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon, were exempted after undisclosed lobbying efforts. Additionally, the law did not apply to social media platforms with annual revenue of less than $100 million.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin expressed disappointment with the ruling and mentioned his commitment to defending the law to protect children’s interests, as recognized in the federal judge’s order. Griffin has the option to appeal the decision to the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, although his office has not disclosed its next steps.
NetChoice had requested an expedited decision to halt the law from taking effect due to the short timeframe for compliance. The group argued that the law posed a threat to the safety and privacy of Arkansans by mandating social media companies like Meta and TikTok to collaborate with external entities to collect user ages for verification purposes.
Additionally, civil liberties groups, including the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed an amicus brief in support of NetChoice’s injunction request. They contended that the law would have infringed on the free speech protections granted to both children and adults on social media platforms.