Sixth Circuit Orders Reinstatement of Ohio’s Social Media Parental Consent Law
On Thursday, a divided panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s regulation requiring children under 16 to obtain parental consent before using social media applications must be reinstated.
The ruling is a major setback for NetChoice, a tech industry trade group that has secured court victories blocking nearly identical digital age-verification and consent laws in other states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia. The group, which represents major tech companies such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Meta, said the Sixth Circuit’s decision runs counter to a “clear national consensus” and pledged to continue its legal fight.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” said Paul Taske, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.
NetChoice first filed suit against Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing the regulation was unconstitutionally overbroad, vague, and created an unlawful barrier to protected free speech. The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit panel rejected those claims. In a 2-1 split decision, the court found the law does not violate the Constitution, and sent the case back to a lower court to vacate the existing block on the law’s enforcement.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote in the lead majority opinion. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
Judge Alice Batchelder joined the majority ruling, and wrote in a concurring opinion that “a statute is not vague just because it has a wide berth.”
Officially named the Social Media Parental Notification Act, the Ohio law was inserted as a provision into the state’s $86.1 billion biennial budget bill, which Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law in July 2023. State officials promoted the policy as a critical protection for youth mental health; then-Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, who now serves as a U.S. Senator, noted at the time that social media platforms are “intentionally addictive” and harmful to children.
The law requires social media and gaming app operators to obtain explicit parental permission for users under 16, and to publish clear privacy guidelines that let families know what types of content will be censored or moderated on a child’s account.
Ohio Republican Attorney General Andy Wilson called Thursday’s ruling “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents — not social media companies — should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
— Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press
