Virginia passed a law aiming to limit kids' use of social media last year, but a federal judge blocked it before it could go into effect. Virginia’s attorney general has promised to fight that ruling.
Last week, a federal judge found a law aiming to limit the time kids spend on social media violated their First Amendment rights as well as the rights of adults and big tech companies. Attorney General Jay Jones says he’ll fight those claims.
“We know unfettered access to addictive feeds and passive screen time is shown to hurt our kids in the long run causing increased feelings of anxiety, depression and isolation,” Jones said.
Those concerns are shared by Henrico County Democratic Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg, who authored the bill last year.
“These questions are knotty, they’re difficult. Freedom of speech is very important," VanValkenburg told Radio IQ. "And we also have a compelling state interest in making sure social media is safe for kids.”
But Net Choice, the group behind the legal challenge, argues the law is an overreach, depriving not just adults of speech rights, but children as well.
“These kinds of heavy handed, one-size-fits-none mandates for age verification and parental consent are going to fail every time,” Net Choice attorney Paul Taske told Radio IQ.
Still, Republican Senator Bill Stanley, who authored the state’s age verification law for online porn, is optimistic the law will stand.
“Sometimes courts are wrong. Not when I’m before them and they rule in my favor," Stanley quipped. "But usually, the courts are wrong when they do stuff like this.”
Arguments in the dispute should give insight into AG Jones’ defense of the law in the coming weeks.
