Columbus, Ohio — A trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies sued Ohio on Friday over a pending law that requires children to get parental permission to use social media apps.
The law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed in July. The measure will come into effect on January 15. The administration pushed the measure as a way to protect children's mental health, with Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted saying at the time that social media was “intentionally addictive” and harmful to children.
The trade group NetChoice has filed a lawsuit against GOP Attorney General Dave Yost in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. It tries to prevent the law from taking effect.
The lawsuit argues that Ohio's law — which requires social media companies to obtain parental consent for children under 16 to sign up for social media and gaming apps — unconstitutionally restricts free speech and is overbroad and vague .
The law also requires social media companies to provide parents with their privacy guidelines so that families can know what content on their child's profile is being censored or moderated.
“We at NetChoice believe that families equipped with educational resources are empowered to determine for themselves the best approach to online services and privacy protections,” Chris Marchese, director of the organization's process center, said in a statement. “With NetChoice v. Yost, we will fight to ensure that all Ohioans can embrace digital tools without their privacy, security and rights being thwarted.”
The group has won lawsuits challenging similar restrictions in California and Arkansas.
Husted, who leads Ohio's technology initiatives and advocated for the law, called Friday's lawsuit “cowardly but not unexpected.”
“In filing this lawsuit, these companies are determined to circumvent parents from exposing children to harmful content and addicting them to their platforms,” Husted said in a statement.
He claimed the companies know their algorithms are harming children “with catastrophic health and mental health consequences.”