Report from The Hill
In Brief – The State of Florida has sued Snap, operator of Snapchat, for violating HB 3, a state law enacted in 2024 to protect teens from “addictive” social media features, including though infinite scrolling, push notifications, auto-play videos, and “likes” and other feedback metrics. Florida’s complaint further alleged that the platform is marketed as safe for 13-year-olds although it can be used for harmful activity, including viewing pornography and buying illegal drugs. HB 3 requires social media platforms to remove 13-year-olds and obtain parental consent for 14- and 15-year-old users, none of which is done by Snap. The company and digital platform trade groups have argued that the law violates the US Constitution.
Context – Most of the state laws regulating social media on the premise that they are harmful to teens have been blocked by federal judges, at least temporarily, often for violating the First Amendment. Recent examples include laws enacted by Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, and California. Given that they operationally depend on age verification, the Supreme Court’s consideration of constitutional challenges to a Texas state law requiring age checks for viewing online pornography will help inform judges. Finally, civil lawsuits targeting social media platforms for harming teens are having much better luck getting past initial court hurdles than the state laws are.