EL DORADO, Ark. (Legal Newsline) — NetChoice alleges Arkansas' Social Media Safety Act requiring age verification for social media use violates First Amendment rights.
NetChoice LLC filed a complaint June 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against Tim Griffin, in his official capacity as Attorney General of Arkansas, alleging violation of the First Amendment and other claims.
NetChoice alleges in its complaint that Arkansas Senate Bill 396 imposes obligations on social media companies that violate First Amendment rights with a "content-based restriction on speech." It further claims that the Arkansas law "singles out" a few online services and discriminates among viewpoints and treats "video clips of dancing, voiceovers, or other acts of entertainment" more favorably if the primary purpose is to educate or inform.
It claims Arkansas can't regulate private speech "based on its perception of the value of the views expressed." NetChoice alleges that services operated by NetChoice members including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and Nexdoor already implement policies to ensure that content is appropriate for adults and teens and restrict the use of violent, sexual content, bullying and harassment.
NetChoice seeks monetary relief, interest and all other just relief. They are represented by Marshall Ney and Katherine Campbell of Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP in Rogers and Paul Clement, Erin Murphy, James Xi and Joseph DeMott of Clement & Murphy PLLC in Alexandria, Virginia.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas case number 5:23-CV-05105-TLB