Ohio Federal Judge Pauses Social Media Law Enforcing Parental Consent for Kids’ Accounts

A law in Ohio governing the social media accounts of kids may be breaching the First Amendment in “breathtakingly blunt” ways, and a federal judge has ruled that it cannot take effect next week as initially planned, according to CNN.

The state law, which was set to take effect from Jan. 15, would have needed social media platforms to get consent from parents for children under the age of 16 before creating accounts.

The outcome of the temporary pause on this regulation, as the case continues, is a win for the tech industry “against a wave of state social media laws seeking to govern how tech companies engage with young users.” The laws that have previously been brought into place were in response to worries across the nation regarding the correlation between social media use with minors and the impact it has on mental health.

Algenon Marbley, chief judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in Tuesday’s emergency order temporarily stopping the law, took the tech industry’s side concerning arguments about Ohio’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act. Marbley highlighted the uncertainty around Ohio’s capability to prove in court that the law can weather First Amendment scrutiny, noting that the legislation’s approach “is an untargeted one, as parents must only give one-time approval for the creation of an account,” and doesn’t actually cause platforms to “protect against any of the specific dangers that social media might pose.”

Tech industry group NetChoice, which works to make the internet safe for free enterprise and free expression, has been challenging the laws. The group’s members include Meta (Instagram and Facebook’s parent company), TikTok, Snapchat, Google, and more.

Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice litigation center, said, “NetChoice is glad the Court decided to halt this unconstitutional law while our case for a preliminary injunction is heard. We look forward to making our case to the Court and ensuring that Ohioans’ First Amendment rights, privacy, and security online are protected.”

Previously, NetChoice has challenged social media laws in California and Arkansas and achieved court orders last year to pause those regulations from coming into place.