US court rules Ohio can restrict children's use of social media

An Ohio law aimed at protecting children from the potential harms of social media can move forward after a U.S. appeals court cleared its path on Thursday. The ruling allows the state to implement measures requiring social media companies to obtain parental consent before allowing minors under 16 to use their platforms.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned a previous decision that had halted the law at the request of the tech industry's trade group, NetChoice. The appeals panel found that the state's law does not infringe upon free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

This decision comes amid a global trend of governments seeking to regulate children's access to social media due to mounting concerns about its impact on young people's mental health and safety. The Ohio law, known as the Social Media Parental Notification Act, was passed in 2023 and took effect in January 2024, but was quickly blocked by a federal judge.

NetChoice, representing major platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Meta's Facebook and Instagram, had argued the law was unconstitutionally vague and restricted protected speech. However, the appeals court concluded that while the law imposes some burden on speech and limits companies' preferred content distribution methods, it is narrowly tailored to address Ohio's significant interest in safeguarding children. The court stated the Act's parental consent requirement constitutes a marginal burden that directly targets the problem of children unsupervisedly agreeing to terms and conditions on platforms that may exploit or harm them.

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At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement. That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.