Georgia can’t limit minors’ social media accounts, judge says

“This court takes seriously the acute harm that social media may potentially cause young people,” Totenberg said in her order. “That said, the core principles of the First Amendment constitute a vital shield protective of the constitutional rights of both adults and youth.”

Kara Murray, a spokesperson for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, said his office will appeal the ruling.

“We will continue to defend commonsense measures that empower parents and protect our children online,” Murray said Friday.

The new law is due to go into effect on July 1. A section of it was challenged by NetChoice, a trade association for internet companies including Meta, Amazon, Google and Netflix.

NetChoice asked Totenberg to block Georgia from enforcing that section of the law while its case plays out, citing free speech concerns. Totenberg agreed. Her ruling does not stop the state from enforcing the rest of the law, including a requirement for schools to prevent students from accessing pornographic websites.

Totenberg’s ruling came as the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed Texas to require that pornographic websites verify users are at least 18. An adult industry trade association and associated entities had challenged the Texas law on free speech grounds.

Totenberg’s ruling in the Georgia case is a major victory for free speech and Georgians’ right to engage in public discourse without government overreach, NetChoice Litigation Director Chris Marchese said.

“Parents — not politicians — should guide their children’s lives online and offline, and no one should have to hand over a government ID to speak in digital spaces,” he said.

The part of the Georgia law being challenged by NetChoice and which Totenberg temporarily blocked requires social media platforms to try to verify the age of account holders and prohibit minors from holding accounts without permission from parents or guardians. That section of the new law also limits advertising on, and the collection of information from, minors’ social media accounts.

Totenberg said the state law is poorly tailored and “rife with exemptions that undermine its purpose.” She noted that judges in other states have blocked similar laws being challenged by NetChoice.

“The Act would create a significant — and, for at least some young people, insurmountable — barrier to entry for online speech,” Totenberg said. “The law’s age verification provision would also impose an invasive burden on all Georgians’ online speech by requiring their submission of personal information to access any social media platforms.”

Totenberg’s ruling came as the Supreme Court also decided Friday in an unrelated case that a single federal judge cannot issue a nationwide injunction.

Georgia’s new law to protect children from harmful online content follows the state’s involvement in nationwide litigation against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Meta is accused of intentionally designing social media platforms to be addictive and harmful to adolescents.

Georgia was one of more than 30 states seeking to hold Meta accountable. In November 2024, it dismissed its claims against Meta, court records show.

Other plaintiffs in the litigation, pending before a federal judge in California, include individuals and school districts from around the country. This month, the judge decided that claims by DeKalb County School District will be among the first to go to trial. A trial date has yet to be set.

This is not the first time NetChoice has challenged a Georgia law.

In 2024, the trade organization sued the state to block a new law extending data collection requirements for online marketplaces such as Nextdoor and Craigslist. In that case, U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg temporarily blocked enforcement of the law, ruling that it conflicts with federal law. The state’s appeal of that ruling is still pending.