NetChoice, an industry group affiliated with Twitter and others, sued the state over ``Law seeking parental permission when opening an account for minors''

As the use of SNS spreads, the movement to restrict the use of SNS by minors is also becoming active. There is also In April 2023, the state of Arkansas approved a bill (SB 396) requiring parental permission for minors to use SNS, but the industry group ' NetChoice ', which includes Twitter, Meta, Google, etc. It sued the state of Arkansas for SB 396 violating the U.S. Constitution.

NetChoice Sues Arkansas for Violating the First Amendment - NetChoice
https://netchoice.org/netchoice-sues-arkansas-for-violating-the-first-amendment/

SB396 Bill Information - Arkansas State Legislature
https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=SB396

Arkansas requires parents' OK for children on social media | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-facebook-children-social-media-restrictions-c8f14534e2452d8b0f102d6eb17cbe44

Tech group sues Arkansas over law requiring parental OK for minors creating social media accounts | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trade-group-suing-arkansas-social-media-4f74c116eceaf50c1c052d629dc4bd5f

SB 396, established in Arkansas, requires SNS operators with annual revenues exceeding $100 million (approximately 14.5 billion yen) to ``verify age when new users register'' and ``parents when registering new users of minors. It is obligatory to ask for permission from SB 396 was approved by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in June 2023 and will be subject to regulation from new accounts created after September 1, 2023.

When approving the bill, Governor Sanders emphasized the need for the bill, saying, ``SNS is a great tool, but it can have a huge impact on children.'' On the other hand, the Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes the bill, such as announcing a statement that ``Governors and legislators who supported this bill do not understand the impact (the bill) has on the privacy and freedom of speech of citizens.'' Voices were also sent.

Then, on June 29, 2023, the industry group NetChoice, in which major technology companies such as Google, Amazon.com, and PayPal participate in addition to SNS operators such as Twitter and Meta, announced that SB 396 violates the United States Constitution. announced that it has sued the state of Arkansas for NetChoice lists the following five reasons for opposing SB 396:

1: SB 396 requires companies to surrender their most sensitive personal information, violating the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
2: Complying with SB 396 requires users to 'provide personal information to third parties.' This exposes all users, especially minors, to a security risk.
3: SB 396 ignores existing federal laws to protect children online and violates a supreme law provision (Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution that states that federal law takes precedence over state law). ing.
4: SB 396 regulates Internet communications across the Arkansas state line, violating the Commerce Clause.
5: SB 396 takes away the right of parents to decide 'how their families interact with the Internet.'

Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said, 'SB 396 gives states 'the power to dictate what data of their citizens can be accessed,' and compels them to surrender the most sensitive information to use the Internet. It takes away decision-making rights from parents and families.SB 396 is an unconstitutional power grab and we are petitioning to stop it.'

In addition, the `` bill requiring parental permission for minors to use SNS '' is being discussed in states other than Arkansas, and a similar bill was passed in Louisiana in June 2023.

A bill is passed to prohibit children from creating SNS accounts without parental consent - GIGAZINE