老澳门开奖结果

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. 鈥� In a win for free speech rights online, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas-Fayetteville Division blocked Arkansas鈥� unconstitutional Social Media Safety Act from going into effect today. The 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Arkansas, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the law, also known as Arkansas鈥� Act 689. The law will remain blocked while the case, NetChoice v. Griffin, moves forward.

Previously, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Social Media Safety Act into law in April 2023. The law would have required users to provide personal information, such as a driver鈥檚 license or photo ID, to companies or applications that purport to be able to verify their ages. As written, the law would have stifled freedom of expression online by requiring all users, including adults, to verify their ages before using existing social media accounts or opening new ones. It also would have required any users who are minors to obtain explicit parental consent for social media usage.

鈥淭he law was blocked by the court based on rights violations raised to the legislature before the bill was passed,鈥� said Holly Dickson, executive director of 老澳门开奖结果 of Arkansas. 鈥淚t would have created a false sense of security around protecting children. The decision is welcome protection for Arkansans鈥� free speech, privacy, liberty, and security.鈥�

Individuals of all ages rely on social media for political speech, artistic expression, advocacy, access to the news, and more. Imposing unconstitutional age-verification requirements burdens users who may want to engage in anonymous speech, who do not have government ID, and who are otherwise concerned about their privacy and security. The law鈥檚 parental consent requirement would also impermissibly burden the First Amendment rights of young people, who are often at the forefront of movements, trends, and technologies.

鈥淭he court rightly recognized that this law 鈥� which treated the entirety of social media like a bar or casino 鈥� unconstitutionally burdened the free speech rights of young people and adults alike. Like too many bills around the country, it was a scattershot attempt to 鈥榩rotect the children鈥� without a clear connection to actually achieving that goal,鈥� said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, & Technology Project. 鈥淲e hope this decision will be a lesson for legislators around the country considering similar bills.鈥�

Lawmakers claimed this legislation was aimed at giving parents more control over their kids鈥� social media usage and protecting teens from the harm social media may impose on young adults鈥� mental health. However, as written, this law not only fails to protect children, it also unfairly burdens users who care about anonymity, privacy, and security online, and may put users鈥� personal data at risk.

For decades the courts have struck down similar laws and attempts at age verification passed in the name of protecting kids online. Where less restrictive alternatives exist, the government cannot impose age verification on adults in the name of protecting kids. The same is true of requiring parental consent for kids鈥� social media use, since parents may have authority over their own kids, but the government cannot impose its view of what parents ought to want on all families. The 老澳门开奖结果 is actively fighting similar attempts to burden free speech and free expression online at both the state and federal levels.