Arkansas Social Media Verification Law Struck Down by Judge (1)

Arkansas’ youth-focused Social Media Safety Act infringes on the First Amendment rights of internet users and is unconstitutionally vague, a federal trial court judge ruled in a victory for Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media companies.

The law—known as Act 689— required certain social media companies to verify the ages of those in the state seeking to create an account and check to ensure that minors have parental permission. However the law isn’t narrowly tailored to address the state’s interests in protecting minors from objectionable content, the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas said.

“Rather than targeting content that is harmful to minors, Act 689 simply impedes access to content writ large,” Judge Timothy L. Brooks said.

Tech industry group NetChoice—the plaintiff—has become a formidable legal opponent to related social media restrictions across the country, notching early victories in California, Mississippi, and Utah. The influential group’s membership includes Meta, X Corp., and Snap Inc.

“We remain open to working with Arkansas policymakers to advance legislation that protects minors without violating the Constitution,” Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said in a statement praising the ruling.

Brooks said that because the law drew content-based and speaker-based distinctions to determine which companies had to follow the law, it had to, and failed to, survive strict scrutiny under the First Amendment.

“Arkansas takes a hatchet to adults’ and minors’ protected speech alike though the Constitution demands it use a scalpel,” Brooks wrote in an opinion issued Monday

The court also held the law to be too vague in defining what online services are covered by the age verification requirements.

Brooks highlighted the widely-used app Snapchat as a “prime example” of the kind of arbitrary decisions made under the law’s vague definitions, noting that the state’s attorney argued in court filings that the app was exempt from the requirements, but a co-sponsor of the legislation and the state’s expert witness think it is covered.

Brooks granted Netchoice’s motion for summary judgment and permanently enjoined the law.

“I respect the court’s decision, and we are evaluating our options,” Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement.

Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP and Clement & Murphy PLLC represent NetChoice.

The case is NetChoice LLC v. Griffin, W.D. Ark., No. 5:23-cv-05105, 3/31/25.