Louisiana’s age-check law for social media is unconstitutional, federal judge rules
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The Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act calls for all social media sites with more than 5 million users to make “reasonable efforts” to obtain proof of age to establish an account.
This article was originally published by Louisiana Illuminator.
Louisiana cannot enforce a 2023 law that requires social media platforms to verify the ages of its users, a federal judge ruled Monday, declaring that it violates the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District ruled in favor of NetChoice, a trade association for companies such as Meta, Snapchat, X and YouTube. The group sued the state in March to block the Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act. It calls for all social media sites with more than 5 million users to make “reasonable efforts” to obtain proof of age to establish an account. Underage users need parental consent to join such platforms.
In his 94-page ruling, deGravelles said he agreed with NetChoice’s arguments that the law is overly broad and said it takes an “all or nothing” approach to policing social media use.
“Today, the First Amendment prevailed in Louisiana,” Paul Fiske, co-director of NetChoice’s Litigation Center, said in a statement. “The government lacks authority to restrict access to lawful speech it does not like. As the district court recognized, the First Amendment forbids the government from posting ID-checks outside the library door — and the same is true when it comes to social media.”
Judge deGravelles, a federal court appointee of President Barack Obama, described the act as “under-inclusive” because minors could access the same adult-oriented content on unregulated websites and would not be protected from such materials if they meet one-time age-verification and parental-consent requirements.
The law also goes to the other extreme, deGravelles said in his opinion.
“It is over-inclusive in that it burdens a large amount of protected speech — for minors and adults alike,” he wrote. “And it is seemingly largely redundant of existing parental controls, meaning that there is a less-restrictive alternative: Louisiana can encourage the use of available tools.”
Attorney General Liz Murrill, who was a defendant in the case, called the ruling from deGravelles “very disappointing” in a statement and said she intends to challenge the decision before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal. The ruling calls for the state to cover NetChoice’s attorney’s fees and court costs.
“It’s a very reasonable policy decision by the State Legislature to impose age verification requirements on these companies,” Murrill said. “They can do it, it is not burdensome, and it’s unfortunate that NetChoice chooses to litigate over this issue instead of voluntarily putting those protections in place for kids. We have an all-hands-on deck problem, and they should be a part of the solution.”
The act, authored by Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, allowed the attorney general to fine social media companies up to $2,500 for each violation of its terms.
“Louisiana’s law would have done more than chill free speech,” Fiske said. “It would have created a massive privacy risk for Louisianans like those playing out in real time in countries without a First Amendment, like the UK. Parents, not the government, are best suited to decide how their families use the internet.”
Murrill has previously gone on the offensive against online companies, filing a lawsuit against Roblox in August in state court. The attorney general described the popular gaming site as “overrun with harmful content and child predators.”
This report was updated at 8 a.m. Thursday to include comment from NetChoice.