Utah Will Likely Abandon Social Media Law Amid Legal Challenges

Utah legislators are backing down on plans to implement legislation that would restrict minors’ access to social media platforms.

The proposed Utah Social Media Act, formally known as the Social Media Regulation Act (SMRA), sets forth a series of requirements aimed at regulating social media companies, particularly in relation to minors’ use of social media platforms. Key aspects of the Act include mandates for social media companies to verify the ages of users to ascertain if they are minors and to obtain parental consent for minors’ use of their platforms.

The Act imposes restrictions on the functionalities of minors’ accounts, such as limitations on messaging and advertising, and sets specific hours during which minors can access their accounts. It also addresses concerns about social media addiction by prohibiting certain practices, designs, or features that may contribute to this issue.

The legislation would have required identity verification for users, with face biometrics having been proposed as a solution. But civil rights groups concerned about free speech, including NetChoice and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, sued state authorities, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional and that it would chill free expression.

The American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, has said that social media age verification requirements “rob users of anonymity, pose privacy and security risks, and could be used to block some people from being able to use social media at all.”

The Utah law was scheduled to take effect in March, but lawmakers recently voted to postpone it until October 1, 2024, and said in a court filing that the Utah Legislature “is likely to repeal and replace the law during the current legislative session.” As Reason notes, the acknowledgement that the proposed legislation will likely be abandoned or at least substantially altered suggests that lawmakers realize they’re unlikely to defeat the civil rights lawsuits in court.

Source: Reason

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January 30, 2024 – by the FindBiometrics Editorial Team