A federal judge has temporarily stopped Virginia from implementing a law that would have limited children under 16 to one hour of daily social media use. The court ruled the restrictions likely violate free speech rights of both adults and children.
A federal court has temporarily halted Virginia’s enforcement of legislation designed to shield minors from social media addiction through mandatory age verification and daily usage limits.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria ruled in favor of the technology industry group NetChoice, determining the organization would likely succeed in proving the statute violates constitutional free speech protections for adults, minors, and member companies such as Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Reddit and X.
The preliminary injunction prevents implementation of Senate Bill 854, which former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law last May. The legislation, which became effective January 1, 2026, would have restricted social media usage to one hour daily for users under 16.
NetChoice has mounted legal challenges against comparable legislation in multiple states, including California.
State officials defended the measure as appropriately designed to shield children from social media’s “addictive features” and combat a youth mental health emergency.
However, Judge Giles determined the law was simultaneously too broad by mandating age verification for all users, including adults, and too narrow by excluding potentially habit-forming interactive gaming from its scope.
The judge also noted the legislation creates unequal treatment of “functionally equivalent” content by preventing minors from accessing educational, historical, or religious programming beyond one hour on social platforms while allowing unlimited access to identical content on streaming services.
“The court recognizes the Commonwealth’s compelling interest in protecting its youth from the harms associated with the addictive aspects of social media,” Giles wrote. “However, it cannot infringe on First Amendment rights, including those of the same youth it aims to protect.”
Following the ruling, Rae Pickett, representing Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones, stated: “We look forward to continuing to enforce laws that empower parents to protect their children from the proven harms that can come through social media.”
Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, praised the decision in a statement: “This ruling reaffirms that the government cannot ration access to lawful speech – even if it has noble intentions. Fundamentally, parents must stay in the driver’s seat when it comes to decisions about their families.”