Report from Axios
In Brief – Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced that he will “fully enforce” the state’s new law limiting minors under 16 to one hour per day on any single social media platform, even as a legal challenge brought by tech industry trade group NetChoice moves forward. The restrictions, which require companies to use commercially reasonable age-verification methods and allow parents to adjust the default one-hour cap with consent, took effect January 1. NetChoice, which filed suit in November to block the law, argues that it violates the First Amendment by limiting minors’ time spent engaging in protected speech and effectively requiring adults to verify their age, and is seeking a preliminary injunction from US District Judge Patricia Tolliver. Both sides raise historical legal analogies, with NetChoice describing the law as “the latest attempt in a long line of government efforts to restrict new forms of constitutionally protected expression based on concerns about their potential effects on minors,” comparing social media to television, rock music, and video games, while the state argues that a social media time limit is no different than setting a curfew for public parks or for attending movies.
Context – States keep passing laws regulating how social media sites serve teens. While Virginia is the first to enact a daily time limit, most prohibit so-called “addictive” features such as auto-scrolling and “likes”. Many have been blocked by federal judges for violating the First Amendment. In 2024, the Supreme Court’s Moody v. NetChoice decision saw five justices calling social media a clearly expressive activity strongly protected by First Amendment. But last year the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Mississippi’s social media regulation to stand as litigation proceeded and the High Court refused to overturn that order, creating new uncertainty. Another class of state social media law requires warning labels telling users at regular intervals that social media is harmful to mental health. New York recently joined Minnesota, California and Colorado mandating warning messages, with Colorado’s already put on hold for unconstitutionally compelling speech.