Appeals Court Allows Ohio To Restrict Children’s Use Of Social Media

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed Ohio to enforce a law requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before permitting children under 16 to access their platforms.

The law, known as the Social Media Parental Notification Act, was passed by the state’s legislature in 2023 and took effect in January 2024. NetChoice – a trade group representing TikTok, Meta, and other major tech companies – later filed a lawsuit, alleging that the law was unconstitutional.

In April, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley ruled in NetChoice’s favor and permanently blocked Ohio from enforcing the law. The state subsequently appealed the ruling.

In a 2-1 decision on June 18, a panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court ruling, finding that Ohio’s law does not violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Writing for the majority, Circuit Judge Eric Clay said the state law imposes only “a marginal burden” by requiring parental consent for children to use social media platforms.

“That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them,” Clay said.

“Parental consent will not always be narrowly tailored to the compelling interest in protecting minors’ well-being. It works here because the nature of the harm itself is that children’s unsupervised use of social media puts them at risk of the adverse effects of prolonged and unregulated exposure.”

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson praised the appeals court’s decision, calling it “a win for Ohio families.”

Wilson said in a statement that the ruling would allow parents to supervise their children’s use of social media.

“The court agreed that parents – not social media companies – should get a say in what kids see online. We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet,” he stated. “This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”

NetChoice said the appeals court’s decision will threaten the online privacy and constitutional rights of Ohioan residents. The group suggested that it intends to continue the legal challenge.

“By requiring parents to override the government’s determination, Ohio has violated bedrock First Amendment principles,” Paul Taske, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said in a statement. “We are currently reviewing our options on how best to move forward.”

NetChoice last year won court rulings blocking a similar social media parental consent law in Arkansas and a children’s digital privacy law in California.

Australia became the first country last December to impose a ban on social media for children under 16 amid concerns about the online safety risks to the nation’s youth.

Several countries have since followed suit or are weighing similar social media restrictions over concerns about the platforms’ impact on children’s mental health. Among those countries are the UK, Austria, Denmark, France, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Reuters contributed to this report.