The tech industry organization NetChoice is pressing to block a new Tennessee law that prohibits Meta Platforms, TikTok, Snap and other social media companies from allowing minors under 18 to create accounts, without parental consent.
The "Protecting Children from Social Media Act,” which took effect January 1, also requires social media platforms to verify all users ages.
On Thursday, NetChoice asked U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson in Nashville to issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment, and that its members are facing irreparable harm.
NetChoice noted in its new request that the hyperlocal social platform NextDoor has already blocked users under 18 from its platform due to the law.
“As of January 1, Nextdoor has lost -- and will continue to lose -- its First Amendment right to curate and disseminate speech to minors in Tennessee looking to engage with neighbors to get a babysitting job, find a lost pet, or participate in neighborhood activities,” NetChoice wrote.
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“Minors in Tennessee correspondingly are losing and will continue to lose their First Amendment right to speak and receive speech on Nextdoor,” NetChoice added.
The group says it is requesting a temporary restraining order “as soon as possible to prevent the ongoing irreparable harm that NetChoice members have been suffering since before the Act took effect January 1, 2025.”
NetChoice originally sued in October to block the law, but the judge assigned to the matter -- U.S. District Court Judge William Lynn Campbell Jr. in Nashville -- removed himself from the case before issuing a decision because he had held stock in Meta when the complaint was filed. Last week, the case was reassigned to Richardson.
NetChoice argues that the law violates the First Amendment by requiring all new users, minors as well as adults, to verify their ages. That mandate “unlawfully bars access to speech entirely for those unwilling or unable to provide the requisite documentation,” the group writes.
The organization adds that the parental consent requirement tramples on teens' First Amendment rights to access content. The group notes that the Supreme Court voted 7-2 in 2011 to strike down a California law that banned the sale of violent video games to minors, without parental consent.
Richardson has ordered Tennessee officials to respond to NetChoice's request by January 23.
Other states including New York, Maryland, Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Utah, Texas and California have passed statutes that either restrict teens' use of social media, or limit companies' ability to serve content to teens. Many of those laws are being challenged in court, and so far judges have blocked all or parts of some measures in Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Utah, Texas and California.