Atlanta (AP) A federal judge has halted a bill requiring age verification for social media accounts in Georgia, making it the most recent state to do so.
A federal judge said Thursday that the Georgia law violates free speech rights, much like in seven other states where similar laws have been prohibited.
The Georgia law, which was approved in 2024, will not go into effect next week as planned due to the decision made by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg. Rather, Totenberg issued a provisional injunction that prevents the law from being implemented until the matter is fully decided.
According to Georgia law, certain social media companies would have to take commercially reasonable measures to confirm a user’s age and seek parental consent before allowing accounts for children under the age of sixteen. NetChoice, a trade association for internet companies, put it to the test.
The state aims to create speech restrictions that are unable to stand up to the strict examination required by the Constitution. According to Totenberg’s findings, the law limits the freedom of speech on social media platforms, restricts the rights of children, and chills the right to anonymous online communication.
Attorney General Chris Carr’s spokeswoman announced Thursday that Georgia will file an appeal.
Spokesman Kara Murray issued a statement saying, “We will continue to defend commonsense measures that empower parents and protect our children online.”
Concern over the impact of social media use on youth is growing among parents and even some teenagers. The regulations’ proponents claim that they are necessary to help stop young people’s excessive use of social media, which academics claim is linked to an increase in anxiety and sadness. Totenberg stated that while worries about children being harmed by social media are valid, they do not outweigh the constitutional infringement.
According to Totenberg, the law would cause irreversible harm to NetChoice’s members. Since the group had postponed its case for a year and the state would have to provide 90 days’ notice before enforcing the legislation, she rejected the state’s arguments that the group shouldn’t be granted temporary relief.
In a statement, Chris Marchese, Director of Litigation at NetChoice, stated that free speech does not stop where government anxiety does. No one should need to present a government ID in order to communicate online, and parents, not politicians, should be in charge of their children’s online and offline lives.
It is the eighth state where a law pertaining to children’s social media use has been blocked by NetChoice. Federal judges have permanently overturned the statutes in Arkansas and Ohio. In addition to Georgia, California, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Utah have also put measures on hold. Louisiana consented to refrain from enforcing its statute during the course of the legal action. A federal judge only refused to temporarily suspend a legislation in Tennessee, concluding that NetChoice had not demonstrated that the statute’s failure to be blocked before to trial would cause irreversible harm to consumers.
Georgia had maintained that the rule was intended to safeguard children in a hazardous environment, comparing it to prohibiting kids from entering bars that provide alcohol rather than limiting their freedom of speech.
