Utah Legislature to revise social media limits for youth as it navigates multiple lawsuits
Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Republican legislative leaders took aim at social media companies on the opening day of the state’s 2024 legislative session, pledging to reinforce laws they passed last year to require parental permission for kids to access social media apps. The laws also set a statewide social media curfew, prohibiting minors from using the apps between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. unless authorized by a parent, and give parents access to their children’s accounts. “We will stand for our children and proudly fight any litigation.” A new federal lawsuit filed this week builds upon challenges brought last month by NetChoice — a trade group representing major social media companies like TikTok, Meta and X, formerly known as Twitter — which argues that the Utah laws require all social media users in the state, not just minors, to share an excess of personal data to confirm their age and identity. Federal judges have temporarily blocked Arkansas and Ohio from enforcing their state laws requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.