An Arkansas law requiring social media companies to verify the ages of their users has been struck down by a federal judge who ruled that it was unconstitutional. The decision is a significant victory for the social media companies and digital rights groups that have opposed the law and others like it.
Arkansas became the second state (after Utah) to pass an age verification law for social media in 2023. The Social Media Safety Act required companies to verify the games of users under 18 and get permission from their parents. The law was challenged by NetChoice, a lobbying group representing the tech industry whose membership includes Meta, Snap, X, Reddit and YouTube. NetChoice has also challenged laws restricting social media access in Utah, Texas and California.
In a ruling, Judge Timothy Brooks said that the law, known as Act 689, was overly broad. “Act 689 is a content-based restriction on speech, and it is not targeted to address the harms the State has identified,” Brooks wrote in his decision. “Arkansas takes a hatchet to adults’ and minors’ protected speech alike though the Constitution demands it use a scalpel.” Brooks also highlighted the “unconstitutionally vague” applicability of the law, which seemingly created obligations for some online services, but may have exempted services which had the “predominant or exclusive function [of]… direct messaging” like Snapchat.
“The court confirms what we have been arguing from the start: laws restricting access to protected speech violate the First Amendment,” NetChoice’s Chris Marchese said in a statement. “This ruling protects Americans from having to hand over their IDs or biometric data just to access constitutionally protected speech online.”
It’s not clear if state officials in Arkansas will appeal the ruling. “I respect the court’s decision, and we are evaluating our options,” Arkansas Attorney general Tim Griffin said in a statement.
Even with NetChoice’s latest victory, it seems that age verification laws are unlikely to go away anytime soon. Utah recently passed an age verification requirement for app stores. And a Texas law requiring porn sites to conduct age verification is currently before the Supreme Court.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/arkansas-social-media-age-verification-law-blocked-by-federal-judge-194614568.html?src=rss
