A federal judge in Georgia cited free speech violations as she blocked a law on Thursday that requires parental and age verification on all social media accounts.
The measure that passed in 2024 was set to take effect next week and would require children younger than 16 to receive a parent’s permission while creating accounts.
The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, granting a preliminary injunction until there can be a full ruling. The law was challenged by the trade group NetChoice as a representative of social media businesses, which has challenged similar laws in eight other states.
The law, Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024, was introduced by a group of republican Georgia Senators in January of last year and was signed into law by April. Attorney General Chris Carr said Thursday that Georgia will be appealing the block.
Totenburg quoted the case of Packingham v. North Carolina in her decision, saying “social media specifically—represents ‘the most important place… for the exchange of views.’”
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While Totenburg affirmed the parental concerns about social media, she weighed that the law was still constitutionally demanding of her injunction.
NetChoice has been able to get similar laws completely overturned in Arkansas and Ohio. Other laws are on hold in states such as California and Texas. A federal judge did decline NetChoice’s attempt to overturn a law in Tennessee, stating that people would not be harmed if the law was passed.