(The Center Square) – A U.S. District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction Thursday that halts the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024.
NetChoice, a trade organization representing apps like Facebook and Instagram, is challenging the law in a case in the U.S. Northern District of Georgia. It would have required submitting proof of age before accessing social media sites.
Judge Amy Totenberg said in the 50-page ruling that the law is constitutionally infirm.
“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,” Totenberg said in her decision. “The Act curbs the speech rights of Georgia’s youth while imposing an immense, potentially intrusive burden on all Georgians who wish to engage in the most central computerized public fora of the twenty-first century.”
Chris Marchese, NetChoice director of litigation, called the decision “a victory for free speech.”
“This ruling reaffirms that even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster,” Marchese said. “Free expression doesn’t end where government anxiety begins. Parents – not politicians – should guide their children’s lives online and offline – and no one should have to hand over a government ID to speak in digital spaces.”
The bill was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2024.
“We will continue to defend common sense measures that empower parents and protect our children online,” a spokesperson for Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement to The Center Square.
The Georgia ruling comes a week after a Tennessee federal judge denied a preliminary injunction that would have halted a similar law in that state.
“We remain confident the (Tennessee) law will ultimately be struck down,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice associate director of litigation.
The company has challenged similar laws in Arkansas, Ohio, California, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Utah.
