A coalition of tech companies sued the state Thursday, asking a federal judge to strike down a law requiring them to warn young users about the impacts of using their social media products.
The suit argues the law violates the First Amendment. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Denver by NetChoice, a trade group that includes prominent companies like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram; X, which was formerly Twitter; Google; and Reddit.
The law it seeks to invalidate was passed last year as House Bill 1136 with bipartisan support. The social media companies won’t feel its requirements — which they called an “unconstitutional power grab” — until Jan. 1, when it takes effect.
The law will require social media sites and apps to create a function or a pop-up that warns young users about the potential impacts of using social media on their brain development and their physical and mental health.
The warning label would be displayed to Coloradans under the age of 18 who have used the social media service for more than an hour over a 24-hour period, or if the user is online overnight. The notice must be displayed every 30 minutes.
The companies are asking a judge to rule that the law amounts to the government forcing them to speak in a specific manner. They contend the requirements of the legislation are too vague to implement.
“At its core, this case is about one thing: compelled speech. Colorado is trying to force private websites to act as a mouthpiece for its preferred message,” Paul Taske, the co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said in a statement. “The State is free to share its view on any topic it wishes, but it cannot force private businesses to speak for it.”
The suit was filed against Attorney General Phil Weiser. Spokesman Lawrence Pacheco declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
The companies allege that the law requires them to share “controversial warnings” about the effects of social media, and they argue research is still emerging about whether the apps are harmful. The lawsuit points to a 2023 advisory from the U.S. surgeon general stating that “more research is needed to fully understand the impact of social media.” It also notes that the advisory lists potential benefits from social media use.
Lawmakers had leaned on that federal advisory when drafting the legislation.
But the advisory goes on to say that “the current body of evidence indicates that while social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.”
The Biden administration’s surgeon general at the time, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, later called for a warning label to be placed on social media platforms.
NetChoice has challenged social media regulations in other states.
Elsewhere on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overrule a lower court that allowed a Mississippi law requiring social media age verification to go into effect. Last year, the high court put on hold laws from Texas and Florida that had banned social media companies from restricting politicians’ access to the sites, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s banning from some platforms after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
A judge in Arkansas sided with NetChoice in August 2023, blocking a new law that required parental consent before a child joined a social media site. Arkansas then passed new regulations, limiting content on social media platforms and allowing parents of children who killed themselves to sue over content on the platforms. NetChoice sued to block those laws in late June.
Colorado has had its own share of social media dust-ups.
In April, lawmakers passed new bipartisan social media regulations requiring platforms to better police themselves and to ban users who violate their terms of service or run afoul of state law. Gov. Jared Polis vetoed that bill. The state Senate then voted to override the veto, but lawmakers in the House declined to pursue the same vote there, citing flagging support.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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