Federal judge blocks Louisiana’s social media age verification law – here's why

• A federal judge granted a permanent injunction against Louisiana's Act 456
• The law would have required social media to verify the age of all users
• NetChoice argued the law created "massive privacy risks"

US District Court has permanently blocked Louisiana's controversial social media age verification law, declaring it unconstitutional just days before it was set to be enforced.

In a decision handed down this week, Judge John W. deGravelles ruled in favor of NetChoice, a tech trade association representing giants like Meta, X (formerly Twitter), and Google, arguing that the "Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act" (Act 456) violated the First Amendment.

The law, passed in 2023, would have required social media platforms with more than five million users to verify the age of every account holder and obtain parental consent for minors under 16. While state officials argued the measure ...