Utah updates social media law for minors after Free Speech lawsuit

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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression FIRE) filed a federal lawsuit against Utah officials over the state’s Social Media Regulation Act, a law restricting social media use by minors. The advocacy group claimed the law would have a “chilling effect” on Free Speech. The backlash led Utah lawmakers to update the law to ensure it would legally hold up in court. 

Key Players

Gov. Spencer Cox (R), who has governed since 2021, previously served as the state’s eighth lieutenant governor. 

State Sen. Mike McKell (R) represents the 25th District, encompassing the city of Spanish Fork, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. He proposed and sponsored one of the bills.

State Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R) represents the 42nd District, encompassing the city of South Jordan, about 17 miles south of Salt Lake City. He also proposed and sponsored one of the bills.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, advocates for and strives to defend the right to Free Speech. 

Further Details

In 2023, two Utah bills were written in response to growing concerns about the effects of social media on the mental health of minors. 

SB 152 set age requirements for using social media platforms, requiring parental consent for minors who wish to open and maintain accounts. The legislation prohibited social media companies from displaying advertisements and collecting or storing minors’ personal information. It also gave parents full access to their children’s accounts and set a restriction for minors’ access to the platforms between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., unless adjusted by parents. 

HB 311 prohibited social media companies from implementing addictive designs or features across their interfaces and granted users the ability to sue social media companies for “any addiction, financial, physical, or emotional harm suffered” as a result of having used an account on their platform. 

Prior to Cox signing the bills into law, many raised concerns that they violated the First amendment rights of minors. 

On Feb. 16, 2023, while the bills were still pending, TechFreedom, a nonpartisan technology think tank, wrote a letter to the governor, arguing that mandating age verification violated the First Amendment rights of all Americans and posed serious privacy and security risks. 

“All adults would have to upload a driver’s license or other official identity document, effectively abolishing online anonymity,” the letter stated, adding that “because there is no way for a platform to know that a user is not a Utah resident prior to verification, sites will be required to age-verify all users regardless of their location—extending the unconstitutional effects of these bills far beyond Utah’s borders.”

On March 6, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit digital rights group, wrote a letter of opposition to SB 152, arguing, “The majority of young Utahns will find themselves effectively locked out of much of the web, putting them at a severe disadvantage compared to others in the country.” EFF added that the bill severely infringed upon the privacy rights of young people, as the ability for parents to access accounts deters them from “exercising their freedom to access information and speak out.”

On March 15, after the bills passed in both the Utah house and senate, Ari Cohn, a First Amendment attorney for TechFreedom, tweeted that Cox “must now decide whether to do what is right, or what is politically expedient.” 

The next day, Cox held his monthly news conference, during which he indicated his intent to sign SB 152 and HB 311. “This is something that is killing our kids,” he said. “It’s the addictive qualities of social media that are intentionally being placed by these companies to get our kids addicted, and they know it’s harming them.” 

Cox expressed confidence that the laws would hold up against legal challenges. “I’m not gonna back down from a potential legal challenge when these companies are killing our kids,” he said. 

Cox signs social media bills into law

On March 23, Cox signed SB 152 and HB 311 into law, making Utah the first state to pass legislation regulating the social media accessibility of users under the age of 18. Violations could result in penalties that included fines of up to $250,000 and other court action, as outlined on the state government’s website. Together, the two bills encompass the Utah Social Media Regulation Act.

“We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth,” Cox tweeted.

In a statement to CNN, McKell explained, “When it comes down to it, [SB 152] is about protecting our children. … As a lawmaker and parent, I believe this bill is the best path forward to prevent our children from succumbing to the negative and sometimes life-threatening effects of social media.”

After the bills were signed, Jason Kelley, the director of activism at EFF, told CNN, “Social media provides a lifeline for many young people, in addition to community, education, and conversation. They use it in part because it can be private. … The law, which would limit social media access and require parental consent and monitoring for minors, will incalculably harm the ability of young people to protect their privacy and deter them from exercising their rights.” 

Outcome

FIRE sues Utah officials 

On Jan. 12, 2024, FIRE, representing four plaintiffs, filed a federal lawsuit against Sean Reyes, the state attorney general, and Katie Hass, the director of the state’s consumer protection body, contending the Utah Social Media Regulation Act is unconstitutional and prevents families from making their own decisions on how to handle social media for their children. 

The lawsuit asserts that the law violates the First Amendment, the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, and the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause. It also asks that Utah cease enforcement of the law and declare it invalid. 

Plaintiffs include Hannah Zoulek, a queer-identifying high school student, a YouTuber who posts cooking and mental health videos, and two online advocates who have escaped a polygamous community and attempt to help others in similar circumstances. Largely, the plaintiffs asserted that the law will hinder minors’ ability to connect with people online, which they argue is an essential function of social media, especially for individuals who are not supported by their families or are at risk of abuse. 

“This law will require me and my mom to give sensitive personal information to major tech companies simply to access platforms that have been an integral part of my development, giving me a sense of community and really just helping me figure out who I am as a person,” Zoulek said in a statement issued by FIRE.

Plaintiff Lu Ann Cooper, who co-founded Hope After Polygamy, said, “I was raised in an abusive polygamous family being groomed and coerced to marry my first cousin when I was only 15 years old. Since escaping, I’ve used social media to provide resources to others in difficult or dangerous situations. This law will only hurt children in similar situations.” 

“This law interferes with my right as a mom to determine how my kids use social media, which each family should decide for itself,” Cooper added. 

FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere explained, “Throughout history, censorship has always been the answer to moral panics inspired by new technologies. But censorship is the wrong response to concerns presented by new cultural phenomena, whether the printing press in the 1400s, comic books in the ’50s, video games in the ’90s, or social media today.”

Cox replaces social media laws, removes parental consent requirement

In January 2024, at the start of the Utah legislative session, state lawmakers announced that they would revise the pair of social media laws. 

In March 2024, Cox signed two bills that repeal and replace those laws with language the sponsors say should hold up in court, the Associated Press reported. 

Specifically, legislators removed the requirement that parents consent to their children opening a social media account. However, parents can still access their children’s accounts and have grounds to sue a social media company if their child’s mental health worsens from excessive use due to curated content from algorithms. Social media companies must comply with a long list of demands to avoid liability.

FIRE asks federal court to stop Utah’s social media law…again

On May 31, FIRE filed an amended complaint and a motion for a preliminary injunction t stop the updated law from going into effect on Oct. 1, 2025.  

In a June 6 press release, FIRE maintained that the update was “equally unconstitutional.”

“The plaintiffs in this lawsuit deserve better from Utah, as do all minors, their families, and the organizations that help them,” FIRE stated. “These regulations are misguided, and FIRE won’t stop so long as Utah keeps passing laws that violate its citizens’ First Amendment rights.”

As of June 25, 2024, there were no further developments.