Report from MediaPost
In Brief – The Attorney General of Arkansas has agreed that the state will not enforce legislation that prohibits social media platforms from using algorithms that could “cause” a user to commit suicide, buy drugs, develop an eating disorder, or become addicted to social media until a federal judge rules on NetChoice’s motion to block the law as unconstitutional. The statute, which had been slated to take effect August 5, was part of a package of bills restricting how social media platforms serve teens in the state enacted earlier this year in response to a federal court decision blocking the state’s 2023 Social Media Safety Act that included setting an 18-year-old age limit for social media platforms. NetChoice argues the latest law violates the First Amendment, including by being “hopelessly vague,” adding that someone “of ordinary intelligence” has no way of knowing “whether a particular ‘feature’ will cause some unidentified user to purchase a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, engage in self-harm, or become ‘addicted’ to the online service.” As part of the agreement to not enforce the new law pending a ruling on NetChoice’s request for a preliminary injunction, the AG’s office and NetChoice agreed to extend the deadline until September 1 for the state to respond to NetChoice’s motion.
Context – States keep passing laws regulating social media on the premise that they are harmful to teens. And the laws keep getting blocked by federal judges. Georgia, is the most recent example, following on the heels of Florida, Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, and California. Although the Supreme Court recently ruled that a Texas law requiring online pornography sites to employ age verification was constitutionally acceptable, applying “intermediate” scrutiny to the law, the Court’s majority stressed that minors had no First Amendment right to access pornography. Most of the federal judges blocking the state social media laws are consistently ruling that teens have clear First Amendment rights to use social media platforms, therefore the laws must be judged using “strict” scrutiny.