The U.S. District Court for Western Texas set a hearing for 10 a.m. CT on Dec. 16 on a preliminary injunction against the state’s app store age-verification law. SB-2420, set to go into effect Jan. 1, requires app stores to verify the age of users, so that kids younger than 18 cannot download certain apps or make in-app purchases without parental consent.
NetChoice Lawsuits
NetChoice lawsuits involve a series of high-profile legal challenges brought by the tech industry trade group NetChoice against state laws regulating online content moderation and user data practices. The group has sued states including Texas and Florida, arguing that their social media laws violate the First Amendment and conflict with federal protections for online platforms. These cases, now before federal appeals courts and potentially the U.S. Supreme Court, could set sweeping precedents for how states can govern digital platforms’ handling of speech, privacy, and user data.
NetChoice asked a federal court Friday to approve a preliminary injunction against a Virginia social media law amending the state's privacy statute. The motion comes just days after the trade association sued the state over the amendment, which would require that social media platforms conduct age verification and set a one-hour daily limit for users younger than 16, unless they obtain parental consent for more time (see 2511170060).
Texas gives no good reason for a federal court to uphold the state’s app store age-verification law, the Computer & Communications Industry Association said Thursday.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals grilled parties on what it means to be a content-based restriction when it comes to social media during a hearing Thursday in NetChoice v. Brown. The case centers on the constitutionality of SB-194, which requires social media companies to implement an age-assurance system to determine whether account users in Utah are minors (see 2505270050).
NetChoice sued Virginia on Monday over a social media law amending the state's privacy statute. The measure under challenge amended the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act to require that social media platforms conduct age verification and set a one-hour daily time limit for users younger than 16, unless a parent consents for additional time.
Opponents of social media age-verification requirements Thursday cast a Michigan bill as outdated, bad for consumer privacy and likely to draw a lawsuit. However, at the Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee hearing, sponsor Rep. Mark Tisdel (R) repeatedly said his legislation is meant to hammer home a critical concept: “Minors can’t consent.”
NetChoice "will explore all available options" after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied the trade association's petition to rehear a case challenging the constitutionality of a California social media addiction law. The court gave no reason for its denial.
Despite having a “laudable goal,” Colorado may not enforce a law requiring mental health warning labels on social media, the U.S. District Court for Colorado ruled in case 25-cv-2538-WJM-KAS as it granted tech industry association NetChoice’s motion for preliminary injunction on Thursday.
The regulatory landscape in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech v. Paxton and this year’s enactment of a Texas app store age-verification bill “is more complex and riskier than ever,” Kohrman Jackson attorneys blogged Wednesday.
Noting that many judges aren't technology experts, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham expressed concern Monday that many legal issues are decided using court documents instead of jury trials. “One of the frustrations” that stems from long-running litigation is that “a trial judge … never got to hear the full evidence,” he said during oral argument in CCIA v. Paxton.