Ohio faces lawsuit from trade group over new social media law

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A trade group representing multiple social media sites is suing to stop a new Ohio law that would force companies to get verifiable parental consent for children under 16.

Trade group NetChoice filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Ohio on Friday seeking to stop the Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act from going into effect on Jan. 15. The group has launched lawsuits against other states that passed laws regulating social media use and internet privacy.

NetChoice, with clients such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X, claims the new law is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit alleges the law violates minors' free speech and is unconstitutionally vague.

“We at NetChoice believe families equipped with educational resources are capable of determining the best approach to online services and privacy protections for themselves,” said Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.

Lt. Gov Jon Husted, who championed the law, called the lawsuit "cowardly."

"These companies know that they are harming our children with addictive algorithms with catastrophic health and mental health outcomes," Husted said, in part.

The law would require certain online companies such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and others to include parental consent as part of their terms of service before letting teens and children use their platforms.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office previously said it also "may cover gaming platforms, shared message boards, etc. that target children or are reasonably anticipated to be accessed by children."

Parental consent could be verified through:

• Signing a digital form consenting to the terms of service
• Using a credit card, debit card, or other online payment system
• Calling a toll-free telephone number
• Connecting to trained personnel via video-conference
• Checking a form of government-issued identification

"When consent is granted, operators must then send written confirmation of the account to the parent or legal guardian. When consent is not given, operators must deny the child access to the platform," The state attorney general's office said.

If operators fail to provide notification or terminate a child's access, the attorney general's office said parents can contact the website operator, who then has 30 days to terminate the child’s access. If unsuccessful, parents could then file a complaint here.

Husted urged the group to drop the lawsuit.

"They need to drop this lawsuit so that we can move forward with the Social Media Parental Notification Act that makes parents part of the equation," Husted said.