NetChoice Sues La. AG Over Social Media Age Verification Act
NetChoice filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Middle Louisiana against Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) over an act that would require age verification before a user could access social media platforms. The action Tuesday alleges the legislation violates the First Amendment and poses a serious threat to online safety and cybersecurity.
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“Louisiana is attempting to unconstitutionally restrict minors’ access to protected online speech -- impairing adults’ access along the way,” the NetChoice complaint in case 25-00231 said. “All individuals, minors and adults alike, must be age-verified, which may include handing over personal information or identification that many are unwilling or unable to provide as a precondition to accessing and engaging in protected speech.”
SB-162, or the Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act, requires social media companies to verify a user's age, as well as require parental consent for minors younger than 16 to create accounts. The Louisiana legislature approved the measure in 2023; it became effective on July 1, 2024.
Louisiana is not alone. Maine is attempting to require age verification for social media, with LD-844 in the legislative hearing process (see 2503170011). Similarly, a verification bill is making its way through legislatures in Oklahoma, Wyoming and Utah (see 2503060022). NetChoice has also filed lawsuits against similar legislation enacted in states like Florida (see 2503170061) and Tennessee (see 2501170070).
“Louisiana’s SB 162 is a fiasco for free speech and online safety,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice associate director of litigation. “Forcing citizens to hand over sensitive documents just to access lawful content online is a gift to hackers and a nightmare for cybersecurity. Worse, it sidelines parents and lets the government decide how families use the internet.”
“By mandating that users go through identity verification processes, Louisiana’s government unintentionally risks the security of all [its] citizens -- especially minors -- by putting their most sensitive documents and information into a honeypot for online predators and cybercriminals to exploit,” NetChoice said in a case summary. “In Louisiana, this threat isn’t theoretical; hackers in 2023 attacked the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles that compromised the data of 6 million Louisianans.”
The Louisiana AG didn't respond to a request for comment.