NetChoice sues Virginia to block its one-hour social media limit for kids

The tech manufacture commercialized radical NetChoice is suing Virginia implicit a caller instrumentality that volition restrict minors from utilizing societal media for much than 1 hr per day. The lawsuit, filed connected Monday, asks the tribunal to artifact the instrumentality implicit claims it violates the First Amendment by putting “unlawful barriers connected however and erstwhile each Virginians tin entree escaped code online.”

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the societal media bill (SB 854) into instrumentality successful May, and it’s acceptable to spell into effect connected January 1st, 2026. Under the law, societal media platforms volition person to forestall kids nether 16 from utilizing the sites for much than 1 hr each time unless they person support from a parent.

In summation to restricting entree to ineligible speech, NetChoice alleges that Virginia’s incoming instrumentality volition necessitate platforms to verify idiosyncratic ages successful ways that would airs privateness and information risks. The instrumentality requires platforms to usage “commercially tenable methods,” which it says see a surface that prompts the idiosyncratic to participate a commencement date. However, NetChoice argues that Virginia could spell beyond this requirement, citing a station from Governor Youngkin connected X, stating “platforms indispensable verify age,” perchance referring to stricter methods, similar having users taxable a authorities ID oregon different idiosyncratic information.

We’ve already seen the risks of this information collection, arsenic Discord revealed past period that astir 70,000 users whitethorn person had their authorities IDs exposed during a lawsuit work information breach related to age-related appeals.

NetChoice, which is backed by tech giants similar Meta, Google, Amazon, Reddit, and Discord, alleges that the instrumentality puts a load connected minors’ quality to prosecute oregon devour code online. “The First Amendment prohibits the authorities from placing these types of restrictions connected accessing lawful and invaluable speech, conscionable successful the aforesaid mode that the authorities can’t archer you however agelong you could walk speechmaking a book, watching a tv program, oregon consuming a documentary,” Paul Taske, the co-director of the Netchoice Litigation Center, tells The Verge.

NetChoice has filed — and won — lawsuits against respective different states that person enacted laws requiring societal media platforms to instrumentality property verification requirements, though Virginia appears to beryllium the archetypal to enforce a strict clip bounds for minors. Virginia — like galore different states — besides requires porn sites successful the authorities to verify the ages of their users. 

“Virginia indispensable permission the parenting decisions wherever they belong: with parents,” Taske says. “By asserting that authorization for itself, Virginia not lone violates its citizens’ rights to escaped code but besides exposes them to accrued hazard of privateness and information breaches.”