A technology industry group sued to block an Ohio law requiring social media platforms to acquire parental consent before allowing minors onto their platforms, the latest in a string of litigation against new measures billed as protecting teenagers and children.
The technology advocacy group NetChoice filed a suit against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to get the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to halt the Social Media Parental Notification Act from going into effect. The law, which is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 15, would require social media companies to find a way to determine if a user was 16 or younger before allowing them to sign up for a new social media profile. If they are identified as younger, the platform will need consent from a parent or legal guardian before the account can be made. NetChoice has been successful in getting courts to temporarily halt age-verification legislation in two states so far.
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NetChoice argues that parents should be provided with educational resources rather than having the government bar the technology from teenagers. “We at NetChoice believe families equipped with educational resources are capable of determining the best approach to online services and privacy protections for themselves,” Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said in a statement. “With our lawsuit, NetChoice v. Yost, we will fight to ensure all Ohioans can embrace digital tools without their privacy, security, and rights being thwarted.”
NetChoice argues that the SMPN Act violates the First Amendment, is overly broad in power, and contains several unclear definitions and descriptions. They also argue it endangers the online privacy of Ohioans because it would require them to hand over sensitive documents and force those companies to host that information.
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NetChoice has filed suits against similar laws in California, Arkansas, and Utah, and succeeded in obtaining preliminary holds in the first two states. It is also set to participate in oral arguments before the Supreme Court in early 2024 over whether Texas’s and Florida’s laws restricting the removal of content from social media platforms violate the First Amendment.
