Ohio Court Halts New State Law Limiting Minors' Use of Social Media

An Ohio Federal judge has temporarily suspended the state's new law limiting underage users' access to social media.

US District Court Judge Algenon Marbley ruled a temporary restraining order on the pending law set to take effect next week, Jan. 15.

According to Marbley, Ohio's proposal of requiring children to get parental consent before using social media violates the First Amendment of free speech in "breathtakingly blunt" ways.

The decision comes after NetChoice, a tech trade group representing prominent social media platforms, filed a lawsuit against the Ohio government last Friday, Jan. 5.

NetChoice expressed its approval of the court decision to halt the "unconstitutional law" and protect "Ohioans' First Amendment rights, privacy, and security online."

The Ohio court's decision marks the third time NetChoice successfully paused the state from implementing social media restrictions. The trade group was able to obtain similar court orders in Arkansas and California.

NetChoice is set to block another similar law in Utah that is scheduled to take effect in March.

What is Ohio's New Social Media Law?

The Social Media Parental Notification Act was signed last December by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine as a way to protect children's mental health from "intentionally addictive" online platforms.

Under the provision, social media platforms are required to obtain signed consent from parents or legal guardians for users under the age of 16.

Companies will not be able to allow underaged users to access their platforms if the parent or guardian refuses to give their approval.

This mandate affects prominent social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat. Several gaming and online activity sites were also included.

E-commerce platforms like Amazon, however, were not included in the restricted access.

DeWine continues to push for the suspension to be lifted soon, claiming that negative effects from social media to children's mental health "have been well documented."

More US States Pushes for Social Media Restrictions

Over the past years, more US states have been pushing for more limitations on accessing social media following recent news of social media sites' disregard for their underage users.

Just last month, court documents revealed Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, continued to collect data from underage users despite laws restricting them from doing such actions.

This is not to count several states specifically calling for a state-wide ban of TikTok due to privacy concerns brought by the Chinese-owned app.