The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a bill implemented by
Ohio's governor that requires online companies to obtain parental consent in order for a minor under the age of 16 to use the platform.
History
The bill was passed on 12 June 2023 by the Ohio congress. Lieutenant governor
Jon Husted
Jon A. Husted (born August 25, 1967) is an American politician serving as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio, since 2019. He was previously the 53rd Ohio Secretary of State. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 6th Dis ...
advocated for the law due to his belief that social media is "designed to be addictive and is harming the mental health of children.".
Controversies
Many critics of the bill saw it as a way to stop minors using the platforms for educational reasons and political activism and to limit free speech of minors and violate the privacy of users. On 9 January 2024, the Ohio court blocked the bill from going into effect calling for a temporary restraining order on it, this was after
NetChoice
NetChoice is a trade association of online businesses that advocates for free expression and free enterprise on the internet. It currently has six active First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment lawsuits over state-level i ...
sued the governor of Ohio saying the bill violated the
first amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
,
fourteenth amendment, and
United States federal law
The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as ...
. On 12 February, 2024, Judge
Algenon L. Marbley
Algenon Lamont "Monte" Marbley (born September 19, 1954) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Education and career
Born in Morehead City, North Carolina, Marbley recei ...
granted
NetChoice
NetChoice is a trade association of online businesses that advocates for free expression and free enterprise on the internet. It currently has six active First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment lawsuits over state-level i ...
a preliminary injunction preventing the act from becoming law. It's been completely blocked by the Judge Algenon L. Marbley stating that the need for parental permission was an undue burden on the rights of platform users.
See also
*
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) is a United States federal law, located at ().
The act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. juri ...
*
Youth rights
The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion ...
*
Kids Online Safety Act
*
Adultism
Adultism is "the power adults have over children". More narrowly, adultism is defined as "prejudice and accompanying systematic discrimination against young people". On a more philosophical basis, the term has also been defined as "bias towards ad ...
*
NetChoice
NetChoice is a trade association of online businesses that advocates for free expression and free enterprise on the internet. It currently has six active First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment lawsuits over state-level i ...
References
{{Reflist
Internet law in the United States
Ohio law