A federal judge has stopped a Utah child protection law that requires social media platforms to verify the age of their users. In a ruling Tuesday, Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a temporary restraining order in favor of NetChoice, saying the law likely violates the First Amendment.
NetChoice, the technology association that includes Meta, Snap, Google and X, sued the state in December 2023 to block the law, saying it “violates the constitutional rights of all Utah residents.” In addition to verifying users' ages, the law would also require social platforms to enable “maximum default privacy settings” for children's accounts, as well as disable features “that lead to excessive use,” such as endless scrolling and push notifications.
Although Utah originally enacted the social media legislation in 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed an amended version in March of this year after facing criticism over whether it violated free speech. The law was set to take effect on October 1. However, the changes made to the law were not enough to convince the judge of its constitutionality.
“The Court recognizes the State's sincere desire to protect young people from the new challenges associated with social media use,” Judge Shelby writes. “But because of the paramount importance of the First Amendment in our democratic system, even well-intentioned laws regulating speech based on content must withstand an enormously high level of constitutional scrutiny.”
“Utah's law not only violates the First Amendment, but if enforced would backfire and endanger the very people it is intended to help,” said Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, in a statement. “We look forward to seeing this law and others like it permanently struck down and fully protecting free speech and privacy online across the country.”