A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of a new Georgia law that requires age verification and parental consent for some online activity of minors.
The Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act was signed into law by Governor Kemp in 2024 and was set to take effect July 1, 2025. Filed as Senate Bill 351 by Senators Jason Anavitarte, Randy Robertson, and others, the measure prohibits websites, specifically social platforms, from allowing minors under the age of 16 to create an account without parental consent. It also prohibits platforms from displaying ads to users under age 16 based on their ‘personal information’ other than age and location. Notably, the law offered exemptions for some online content, like news and entertainment, gaming platforms, and websites with e-commerce. For enforcement, the bill authorized the attorney general to impose fines on companies of up to $2,500 per violation. It passed in the Georgia House in a vote of 120-45 and in the Senate in a vote of 51-1.
The State of Georgia, represented by Attorney General Chris Carr, was sued by NetChoice, a trade association of internet companies, over First Amendment concerns and claims that the ad restrictions violate the First Amendment as well. NetChoice also argued that the bill violated Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – a longstanding federal law that holds that web companies are not liable for content posted in their comment sections or on their sites by third parties.
In a lengthy opinion published Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has long affirmed that “the First Amendment carries no age limit,” wrote:
“The state seeks to erect barriers to speech that cannot withstand the rigorous scrutiny that the Constitution requires, and the inapt tailoring of the law — which is rife with exemptions that undermine its purpose — dooms its constitutionality and calls into question its efficacy.”
“[The law] also implicates at least three distinct First Amendment interests: (1) it restricts the rights of Georgia’s minors to access a vital forum of information and conversation; (2) it chills the rights of all Georgians to engage in anonymous speech online; and (3) it impedes social media platforms’ ability to communicate with their users. Those burdens cannot comport with the First Amendment.“
Totenberg also cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in which Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that “Even where the protection of children is the object, the constitutional limits on governmental action apply.” The ruling was in regard to a California law that prohibited the sale of violent video games to minors without parental consent.
You can read the full opinion here.
