Report from Reuters
In Brief – US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles has issued a preliminary injunction blocking Virginia from enforcing Senate Bill 854 that imposes a time limit on teens using social media platforms with so-called “addictive” features. Platforms would need to verify user ages, restrict those under 16 to one hour a day, and allow a parent or guardian to extend or reduce the time limit. Judge Giles ruled that NetChoice, a trade group that challenged the law, was likely to succeed in showing that it violates First Amendment rights of adults, minors, and digital companies. Giles found SB 854 overinclusive because it required age verification for everyone using social media in the state, and underinclusive because it exempted digital services such as interactive gaming platforms that could involve similar features. She also said the law treated “functionally equivalent” speech differently by limiting teen access to similar programming on social media platforms versus streaming platforms. The judge added that Virginia “cannot infringe on First Amendment rights, including those of the same youth it aims to protect.”
Context – Social media critics in the US have been engaged in a massive campaign of civil litigation and state legislation to force the platforms to change how they operate. Because Sec. 230 protects online platforms from liability for content posted by users and platform decisions to restrict content, critics have focused on allegations that platforms employ so-called addictive features. States keep passing laws regulating platform features but most have been blocked by federal judges, although the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and then the 11th Circuit, recently overruled judges and allowed Mississippi and Florida laws to go into effect. The Supreme Court allowed the 5th Circuit decision to stand, likely setting up a High Court clash. The civil lawsuits have had better luck avoiding judicial barriers. Most have been consolidated in the California state court of Judge Carolyn Kuhl or the federal district court of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Both have ruled that Sec. 230 only shielded the platforms from some charges. The first jury trial in Kuhl’s court, involving an allegedly addicted young user, is underway.