Prioritizing Big Tech’s interests over parental authority, a federal judge has struck down Ohio’s attempt to protect children from social media.
Specifically, Judge Algenon L. Marbley permanently blocked the Social Media Parental Notification Act.
The law would have required parental consent for minors under 16 to use platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
The decision marks another victory for NetChoice, a tech industry group representing major companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok.
Judge Marbley ruled that Ohio’s law violated both the First and Fourteenth Amendments by requiring age verification and parental consent for users under the age of 16.
The law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill signed by Republican Governor Mike DeWine in July 2023.
Judge Marbley, appointed by President Bill Clinton, determined the law constituted a content-based restriction that failed to meet the strict scrutiny standard required for limiting speech.
Despite acknowledging the state’s intention to protect children, Marbley sided with tech companies, effectively removing parents from decisions about their children’s social media use.
“Protecting children’s well-being is a laudable, perhaps even achievable, goal,” Judge Marbley wrote in his ruling.
“But Ohio’s imperative is to achieve this goal through legislation that is constitutional,” he added.
The judge continued, “Generally, First Amendment protections ‘are no less applicable when government seeks to control the flow of information to minors.'”
Notably, the ruling emphasized that such laws impose governmental authority rather than actually enforcing parental control.
Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, who championed the law, had described social media platforms as “intentionally addictive” and harmful to children’s mental health.
The law would have required companies to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing children under 16 to create accounts, providing a crucial safeguard that parents across the state supported.
Governor DeWine expressed disappointment with the ruling and called on Congress to take action to protect children from harmful online content.
Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office is reviewing the decision to determine next steps, according to spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle.
The ruling represents yet another instance of judges overturning laws passed by elected representatives responding to parents’ legitimate concerns.
NetChoice has been fighting similar legal battles across the nation, challenging comparable laws in California, Utah, and Arkansas.
It previously won a permanent injunction against Arkansas’s age verification law.
As studies increasingly link social media use to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues among teens, parents are left wondering why judges seem more concerned with protecting tech companies’ profits than children’s well-being.
