BY NBC NEWS
A trade association that advocates for TikTok and other large tech companies filed a lawsuit against Utah on Monday, citing the state’s pioneering legislation requiring minors to get permission from their parents before using social media apps.
Republican governor Spencer Cox signed two laws in March that will make it illegal for minors to use social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. without parental consent. The regulations also mandate age verification in order to create and keep a social media account in the state.
The limitations are meant to shield kids from features that are addicting and specific ads that could harm their mental health. On March 1, 2024, both statutes go into force.
TikTok In a federal complaint, the trade association NetChoice claims that while Utah’s policies have good intentions, they violate parental rights, jeopardize data security, and restrict access to public content.
Chris Marchese, Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, stated, “We are fighting to ensure that all Utahns can embrace digital tools without the forceful clutches of government control.” Numerous of the top social media businesses in the globe are members of the trade group, including X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram parent firm Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc.
Cox said he wasn’t concerned because there is a growing body of evidence showing how social media use can have a negative influence on children’s mental health outcomes, even though he anticipated litigation against both bills TikTok.
Earlier this year, Cox declared, “I’m not going to back down from a potential legal challenge when these companies are killing our kids.”
Emails requesting comment on the lawsuit were not immediately answered on Monday by the governor’s office. The state’s legal representative in court will be the office of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.
TikTok A spokesman for the state of Utah, Richard Piatt, stated, “The state is reviewing the lawsuit but remains intently focused on the goal of this legislation: protecting young people from negative and harmful effects of social media use.”
In a different NetChoice lawsuit, an Arkansas new legislation requiring parental approval for teenagers to open new social media accounts was temporarily stopped by a federal judge. Texas and Louisiana have not yet implemented laws akin to this one.TikTokÂ
TikTok Social media businesses who violate Utah’s age-verification regulation face severe fines from the state. According to NetChoice, this could force the corporations to gather excessive user personal data, endangering their online safety. Companies are not allowed by state legislation to employ any design or feature that leads a child to develop an addiction to their app.
The regulations would provide parents access to their kids’ accounts and make it easier for them to sue social media corporations they believe are harming their kids. The laws require the social media corporations to prove their products were safe, shifting the burden of evidence from the families to them. The new rules apply to any social media network that has five million or more members.TikTok
The complaint also contests the social media curfew enforced by the state, claiming that it may harm kids by preventing them from accessing the news, study aids, and peer interactions.
While its legal case is pending, NetChoice has asked a federal judge to block the laws from going into effect.TikTok
