Arkansas Social Media Parental Consent Law Is Blocked at the Last Minute

Arkansas Social Media Parental Consent Law Is Blocked By Federal Judge At The Last Minute.

A child psychologist said that children under the age of 12 should be banned from using social media. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Just before it was to go into effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked Arkansas legislation that required parental consent for children to open new social media accounts.

District Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas granted a preliminary injunction (pdf) on Aug. 31, in response to a motion by Netchoice, a trade group for social media giants, including Meta, TikTok, and X.