U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby issued the preliminary injunction on Tuesday from restricting the use of social media by minors. In early March, Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed into law Utah’s Small Social Media Protection Act. It was supposed to go into effect Oct. 1, but the court’s decision to block the law is a victory for young social media users in Utah.
This is not the first attempt by the Utah governor use among youth in the state. Last year, he signed two bills requiring parents to allow teenagers to create social media accounts that would have restrictions such as curfews and age verification. He in March due to allegations challenging its legality.
Under the law, social media companies would be forced to verify the age of all users. If a minor signs up for an account, they are subject to various restrictions. Only linked accounts can see the content they share. Additionally, small accounts cannot be searched or messaged by non-followers or friends, making them virtually unavailable to strangers.
The main reason for this related to NetChoice’s claim that the law violated the First Amendment. NetChoice X (formerly Twitter) is a trade association formed by tech giants such as Snap, Meta and Google. The association was able to win court battles and block similar laws in whole or in part in the states. , and .
