NetChoice

Tech industry trade group whose members include Meta, Google, and X, fighting age verification laws nationwide. - Leading litigation against state age verification laws; won preliminary injunctions blocking Louisiana SB 162 and Arkansas Act 901 on December 15, 2024; lost 11th Circuit appeal allowing Florida HB 3 enforcement in November 2024; previously won permanent injunctions in Arkansas, Ohio, Louisiana (2024)

On Christmas Eve 2024, a federal judge blocked Texas from forcing Apple and Google to verify every user's age before they could download apps. It was the latest casualty in a nationwide wave of age verification laws—over half of U.S. states passed them in two years—that kept running into the same problem: judges said they violated the First Amendment. Just nine days earlier, courts struck down age verification schemes in Louisiana and Arkansas on the same day, part of a December 2025 blitz that killed three state laws in two weeks. But in late November, the 11th Circuit handed states their first major victory, allowing Florida to enforce HB 3, which bans social media accounts for children under 14.

Updated Dec 27, 2025

Silicon Valley's legal cavalry, deploying First Amendment lawsuits against every state that tries to age-gate social media. - Lead plaintiff challenging state age verification laws nationwide

A federal judge blocked Texas from forcing Apple and Google to verify every app store user's age, calling the law akin to requiring ID checks at bookstore doors. The December 2024 ruling is the latest defeat in a wave of state attempts to age-gate the internet. Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, and Utah have all seen their social media age verification laws struck down as unconstitutional. But Florida scored a rare victory in November when the 11th Circuit allowed its under-14 ban to take effect while appeals continue—the first state law to survive preliminary challenges.

Updated Dec 26, 2025