Big Tech Suing Ohio Over Law Requiring Parental Consent for Opening Social Media Accounts
Storm CrawlerElvis Dunderhoff Jan 12 2024
It really should fall on the parents, not the government, to regulate the social media use of the kids.
That is to say: the government shouldn’t have to pass a law forcing the parents to regulate their children’s social media use. If the parents are not already stopping their kids from using social media, why would a law requiring them to consider doing that cause them to do that?
Regardless, this law is well within the rights of Ohio. And it’s very interesting that these social media companies consider people under the age of 16 to be an important demographic for their data collection and advertisement schemes.
A trade group representing some of the largest social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X is suing Ohio after the state enacted a law that requires children under the age of 16 to get their parents’ consent before opening an account.
The NetChoice trade group wants the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to strike down the Social Media Parental Notification Act, which was passed last summer.
The law, which goes into effect on Jan. 15, was championed by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted following the tragic death of James Woods, a 17-year-old from Streetsboro, Ohio, who committed suicide in November 2022 after he fell victim to a sextortion plot online.
“This lawsuit is cowardly but not unexpected,” Husted, a Republican, said in a statement.
Not sure it’s “cowardly.”
In fact, it seems very bold.
NetChoice’s complaint claimed that requiring minors to get permission before they can sign up for social media and gaming apps is unconstitutional. The suit alleges the law impedes free speech, is overbroad and vague.
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The group has won lawsuits against similar restrictions in California and Arkansas.
Husted, who leads Ohio’s technology initiatives, refuted those assertions.
“In filing this lawsuit, these companies are determined to go around parents to expose children to harmful content and addict them to their platforms,” Husted said.
Here’s the law, for anyone interested.
Again, parents have abdicated most of their responsibilities. American parents would rather focus on themselves than their children, which is a bizarre inversion of the order of nature.
But the law is legal, and the revelation that this under-16 audience is important to these companies is very interesting.
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