Judge tosses part of social media giants' lawsuit over Utah age rules

A federal judge threw out part of a lawsuit filed against Utah by social media companies over the state's pending age restrictions for the platforms.

The big picture: Meta, Google and TikTok say Utah lawmakers are violating users' First Amendment rights by requiring age verification and parental consent for minors to use social media.

• The lawsuit also disputes the state's ban on features like video autoplay and push notifications on minors' accounts, arguing it violates a federal law that prevents online platforms from being held liable for content posted by their users.

Driving the news: That federal law, the 1996 Communications Decency Act, doesn't conflict with Utah's ban on those technical features, Judge Robert Shelby ruled this week.

Yes, but: The companies' First Amendment complaints are unaffected by the ruling and will continue in court.

Catch up quick: The rules, passed in Utah in 2023 and revised in March, require platforms to disable features "that prolong user engagement," including:

• Autoplayed content that generates without the user interaction
• Pagination that loads content as long as users keep scrolling
• Push notifications that draw users back to the app or site

Friction point: Because those features are triggered by or populated with content by other users, the social media companies argued the ban effectively treats them as creators of other people's content, which the federal law forbids.

The other side: The Utah legislation bans those website features "irrespective of the content" they disseminate, Shelby ruled, so it doesn't run afoul of the federal law.

What they're saying: NetChoice, the trade group representing the social media companies in the lawsuit, noted that the ruling strikes down only one part of its allegations.

• "This lawsuit has always been and will always be about protecting the First Amendment," NetChoice posted in a statement.
• Gov. Spencer Cox called the ruling "great news for Utah in our fight to protect our kids from the harms of social media ."

What's next: A hearing Aug. 14 will address the companies' request that the judge block enforcement of the state's age restrictions.

• Those restrictions are set to take effect Oct. 1.