Columbus, Ohio — A federal judge issued an order Tuesday temporarily halting enforcement of a pending Ohio law that requires children to get parental permission to use social media apps.
U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley’s temporary restraining order stemmed from a lawsuit filed Friday by NetChoice, a trade group that represents TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies. The lawsuit argues that the law unconstitutionally restricts freedom of speech and is overly broad and vague.
While calling the intent to protect children “a laudable goal,” Marbley said it is unlikely that Ohio will be able to demonstrate that the law is “narrowly tailored to the purposes it identifies.”
“Excluding minors under the age of 16 from accessing all content on websites that the law purports to cover, without explicit parental consent, is a breathtakingly blunt tool for reducing the harm of social media to children,” he wrote.
The law is similar to that in other states. It would come into effect on January 15.
In addition to requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent for children under 16 to sign up for social media and gaming apps, it also requires the companies to provide parents with their privacy guidelines so that families can know what content will are censored or moderated. their child’s profile.
The Social Media Parental Notification Act was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed in July. 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.
Husted expressed his disappointment with the judge’s actions on Tuesday.
“The big tech companies behind this lawsuit were involved in the legislative process to ensure the law was clear and easy to implement, but now they claim the law is unclear,” he said in a statement. “They were disingenuous participants in the lawsuit. process and have no interest in the protection of children.”
The governor also regretted the decision.
“The negative effects that social media sites and apps have on our children’s mental health are well documented, and this law was a way to empower parents to play a role in their children’s digital lives,” he said in a statement declaration.
NetChoice has filed suit against GOP Attorney General Dave Yost in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The group has won lawsuits challenging similar restrictions in California and Arkansas.