- Federal judge granted permanent injunction against Louisiana Act 456
- The law would have required social networks to verify the age of all users
- NetChoice argued that the law created “huge privacy risks”
The U.S. District Court permanently blocked Louisiana’s controversial social media age verification law, declaring it unconstitutional just days before it took effect.
In a decision handed down this week, Judge John W. deGravelles ruled in favor of NetChoice, a technology trade association that represents giants like Meta,
The law, passed in 2023, would have required social media platforms with more than five million users to verify the age of each account holder and obtain parental consent for those under 16. While state officials argued that the measure was necessary to protect children from online harm, the court found the legislation to be “very under-inclusive” and “very over-inclusive,” ultimately affecting the free speech rights of adults and minors alike.
The ruling is a significant victory for privacy advocates who have long warned that mandatory ID checks create security vulnerabilities and comes just days after NetChoice won a similar victory in Arkansas.
In an era where data breaches are common, the requirement to upload a government-issued ID to access legal content has led many security-conscious users to seek out the best VPN services to better protect their digital footprint. That said, a VPN alone cannot bypass the enforcement of account-level identification if it is tied to residence.
“Identity checks outside the library”
Judge deGravelles pulled no punches in his 94-page opinion. He criticized the state’s approach, stating that while the government has an interest in protecting children, it does not possess a “floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed.”
Drawing a powerful analogy, the court agreed with NetChoice’s argument that the First Amendment “prohibits the government from posting ID checks outside the library door,” ruling that the same principle applies to social media.
The judge also noted that the law was unconstitutionally vague in its definition of what constitutes a “social media platform,” leaving companies wondering whether they were liable. By forcing all users to waive anonymity to access protected speech, the law would have frozen speech and created significant privacy risks for Louisiana residents.
A growing legal trend
This decision is not an isolated event. It follows a clear pattern of federal courts striking down similar age verification mandates at the state level.
Last week we reported on how a federal judge blocked Arkansas’ social media safety law, citing nearly identical First Amendment concerns. Like the Louisiana case, the Arkansas ruling emphasized that the state cannot broadly restrict access to information in the name of security without demonstrating that less restrictive alternatives, such as device-level parental controls, are ineffective.
Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, welcomed the Louisiana ruling in a statement. “Today, the First Amendment prevailed in Louisiana,” Taske said. “The government lacks the authority to restrict access to legal speech it does not like.”
What comes next?
While the permanent injunction prevents the law from taking effect, the legal battle may not be completely over. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill expressed disappointment with the ruling and indicated plans to appeal.
“It is unfortunate that the court chose to protect large corporations that facilitate child exploitation rather than legislative policy requiring simple age verification mechanisms,” Murrill said in a statement.
However, with growing legal precedents in Ohio, Arkansas, California and now Louisiana, the path forward for state-mandated age verification appears increasingly difficult. For now, social media platforms operating in Louisiana will not be required to implement identification checks, and users can continue to access these services without having to provide government documentation.
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