Virginia AG to intervene after federal judge blocks law limiting minors' social media access

Virginia has filed a notice announcing plans to appeal a judge's preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of the state's law restricting the amount of time that minors under 16 can be on social media to one hour today.

While U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles admitted that the prevalence of social media and overexposure to it "can [undoubtedly] impact minors," she ultimately granted the preliminary injunction, citing First Amendment concerns.

"The issues in this matter are not to be taken lightly. The Court recognizes the Commonwealth’s compelling interest in protecting its youth from the harms associated with the addictive aspects of social media. However, it cannot infringe on First Amendment rights, including those of the same youth it aims to protect," Giles wrote in her Memorandum Opinion.

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When reached by Fox News Digital, NetChoice, the organization that requested the preliminary injunction, pointed to a previously released statement.

"This ruling prevents the state of Virginia from imposing unconstitutional restrictions on how its citizens access lawful speech online while NetChoice v. Miyares moves through the legal system," the organization's statement reads.

Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, celebrated the preliminary injunction, saying that, "The First Amendment is alive and well in Virginia."

NetChoice's case bears the name of Virginia's former Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, as it was filed while he was still in office. The current Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat, issued the notice of appeal for this case, signaling that the state is still interested in enforcing this law.

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In its complaint, NetChoice stated that "Virginia Senate Bill 854 is the latest attempt in a long line of government efforts to restrict new forms of constitutionally protected expression based on concerns about their potential effects on minors." The organization compared concerns about youth and social media to those historically expressed about various books, movies, television shows, rock music, video games and the internet.

"These debates are important, and the government may certainly take part in them. But the First Amendment does not take kindly to government efforts to resolve them," the complaint reads.

Instagram's Teen Accounts — which have certain limitations to protect minors — has 60-minute time limit reminders that encourage teens to get off the app after an hour. Additionally, it turns on sleep mode between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., muting notifications and sending auto replies to direct messages. Meta also instituted Teen Accounts for Facebook and Messenger.

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Last week, Meta announced the implementation of new parental notifications aimed at letting parents know if their child is repeatedly searching terms related to suicide or self-harm.

Jones provided notice to the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that he intends to appeal Giles’ ruling. Her ruling was issued on Feb. 27, and, under federal appellate rules, the appeal must be filed within 30 days of the judge’s order. A brief could be submitted before the end of the month.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Virginia Attorney General's Office, NetChoice, X and Google for comment. Meta declined to comment.