Eleventh Circuit rejects NetChoice challenge to Georgia's under-16 social media law
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against NetChoice's challenge to Georgia's SB 351, which requires age verification and parental consent for under-16s on social media. NetChoice says the court did not hold the law constitutional and is weighing next steps.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2On Thursday 15 October 2026 the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against NetChoice's challenge to Georgia's SB 351, a law restricting minors' use of social media. ReasonRC “From today's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Netchoice v. Attorney General, by Judge Kevin Newsom, joined by Judges Robert Luck and Gerald Bard Tjoflat” Read at Reason ↗ Just the NewsRC “The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Georgia law on Thursday that requires age verification before minors can access social media sites.” Read at Just the News ↗ Right · 1According to the opinion, SB 351 requires covered platforms to verify all users' ages, bars children under 16 from creating accounts without parental consent, and limits the personal data used to show ads to users under 16. ReasonRC “The law requires platforms within its ambit to verify the ages of all their users, to prohibit minors under the age of 16 from creating accounts without their parents' consent, and to limit the personal data they use to display ads to users under 16.” Read at Reason ↗ Right · 1Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law in 2024. It carries fines of up to $2,500 per violation if a company does not fix the violation within 90 days. Just the NewsRC “The law would penalize social media companies that failed to comply by imposing fines of up to $2,500 per violation if the company did not remedy it within 90 days.” Read at Just the News ↗
Right · 1The ruling came by Judge Kevin Newsom, joined by Judges Robert Luck and Gerald Bard Tjoflat. It held that NetChoice had not supplied enough evidence for a facial challenge under the Supreme Court's Moody decision, because it had not addressed the full range of the law's applications and had not even listed all its members covered by the law. ReasonRC “NetChoice has failed to satisfy Moody because it hasn't adequately addressed the "full range" of SB 351's applications, and the record before us does not permit the weighing Moody requires.”“Indeed, NetChoice hasn't provided even a full list of its own members to which SB 351 applies.” Read at Reason ↗ Right · 1The panel also rejected two other grounds. It said the district court erred by granting an injunction on a vagueness theory about "commercially reasonable" age verification that NetChoice never pleaded and the court raised on its own. It also found that the advertising limits do not treat platforms as publishers, so Section 230 does not pre-empt them. ReasonRC “In granting injunctive relief on a theory that NetChoice never pleaded, the district court erred.”“SB 351's advertising provision doesn't treat social-media platforms as publishers or speakers of information provided by others.” Read at Reason ↗ Right · 1The appeals ruling overturns a June 2025 decision by Judge Amy Totenberg, who called the law "constitutionally infirm" and granted a preliminary injunction that kept it from taking effect. Just the News (via The Center Square) reported that the appeals court said NetChoice's lawsuit is unlikely to succeed and that the case now returns to the district court. Just the NewsRC “Judge Amy Totenberg called the law "constitutionally infirm" in a June 2025 ruling and granted a preliminary injunction, keeping the law from taking effect.”“The case goes back to District Court.” Read at Just the News ↗
Right · 1Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr called the decision "a major win for Georgia families" and said the law is about protecting children from online predators and mental health harms. Just the NewsRC ““This is a major win for Georgia families and a huge blow to those who would stand in the way of commonsense solutions to protect our kids,” Carr said in a statement.” Read at Just the News ↗ Right · 1Paul Taske, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, said NetChoice was disappointed but noted that the court "did not hold that SB351 is constitutional". He said NetChoice is evaluating next steps and warned that mandatory age verification creates a "honeypot" of sensitive data. Just the NewsRC ““While we are disappointed in the 11th Circuit’s ruling, the court notably did not hold that SB351 is constitutional,” Taske said in a statement.”“Taske said NetChoice is evaluating its next legal steps.” Read at Just the News ↗ Right · 1NetChoice has challenged similar laws elsewhere with mixed results. In July the 6th Circuit let Ohio's law move forward, and it separately vacated a denial of a preliminary injunction against Tennessee's law and sent that question back to the lower court. Just the NewsRC “NetChoice has challenged similar laws in other states with varying success. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Ohio's social media verification law to move forward in a July decision.” Read at Just the News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets report the ruling as a loss for NetChoice. Reason (Eugene Volokh) reproduces the opinion's legal reasoning at length. Just the News (The Center Square) leads with the law being upheld and includes the state's and NetChoice's reactions.
- Emphasis
- Reason stresses the facial-challenge standard, the evidence NetChoice failed to supply, and the vagueness and Section 230 holdings. Just the News stresses Carr's child-safety message, the injunction history, and similar cases in other states.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Reason gives no reaction from the parties or the law's penalties. Just the News gives little of the court's reasoning, and its 'upholds' headline sits alongside NetChoice's point that constitutionality was not decided.
- Charged language
- “major win for Georgia families”“huge blow”“commonsense solutions”“honeypot”
- For example
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“The court held that Netchoice hadn't introduced enough evidence to show the law was facially unconstitutional” — Reason
““This is a major win for Georgia families and a huge blow to those who would stand in the way of commonsense solutions to protect our kids,” Carr said in a statement.” — Just the News
What every side reports
- The 11th Circuit ruled against NetChoice on Thursday 15 October 2026 in its challenge to Georgia's SB 351.
- SB 351 requires age verification and parental consent for under-16s to hold social media accounts.
- The law had been blocked by a district court preliminary injunction.
Where accounts differ
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What the ruling means for the law's constitutionality
- Right
- Just the News headlines it as the court upholding the law and quotes Carr calling it a major win. It also reports NetChoice's Taske saying the court did not hold SB 351 constitutional. Reason's opinion excerpts show the ruling turned on NetChoice's failure to meet the facial-challenge standard under Moody and on the vagueness and Section 230 issues.
NetChoice organisation
NetChoice says it is disappointed but stresses that the court did not rule SB 351 constitutional. It is weighing next steps and argues that mandatory age verification creates a trove of sensitive data.
“the court notably did not hold that SB351 is constitutional” — Just the News
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals organisation
The court held that NetChoice failed to meet the Moody facial-challenge burden, that the district court wrongly granted relief on an unpleaded vagueness theory, and that Section 230 does not bar the ad restrictions.
“We are similarly stymied here.” — Reason
Georgia place
Georgia's attorney general, Chris Carr, calls the ruling a major win for families and says the law protects children from online predators and mental health harms.
“This is about keeping our children safe from online predators and mental health harms.” — Just the News
Brian Kemp person
Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 351 into law in 2024. The coverage quotes no statement from him on the ruling.
“Senate Bill 351, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law in 2024.” — Just the News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Federal court upholds Georgia's social media verification law
Mixed News report that leads with the law being upheld, gives Carr's celebratory statement prominence, and includes NetChoice's rebuttal and context from other states.
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ReasonRC ·
Neutral Legal-blog post excerpting the opinion at length, laying out the Moody facial-challenge, vagueness and Section 230 holdings with little commentary.
- 15 Oct 22:34 First ReasonRC Eleventh Circuit Rejects Netchoice's Challenge to Georgia Law Restricting Under-16-Year-Old Social Media Access
- 15 Oct 23:24 +49m Just the NewsRC Federal court upholds Georgia's social media verification law
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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