During the 2025 legislative session, Virginia’s General Assembly unanimously passed a new law that requires age verification for the use of social media. Advocates say the aim is to protect children damaged by its extended use, but in a new lawsuit, free speech advocates argue it violates the U.S. Constitution.
Democratic Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg was clear with his hopes after the passage of his social media law earlier this year.
“This is very much a parent empowerment bill because the parent is going to have to have a conversation with the child about what they think is appropriate and what they think is not appropriate,” the Henrico-area official told Radio IQ.
The law allows minors to use social media for one hour, but any more than that requires parental approval. That approval requires age verification.
That age verification is the problem for NetChoice, a group that represents internet services like Google and Meta. The group filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s law earlier this week.
"Virginia’s government cannot force you to read a book in one-hour chunks, and it cannot force you to watch a movie or documentary in state-preferred increments," said Paul Taske, Co-Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, in a statement shared after the suit was filed.
And while the U.S. Supreme Court okayed such age verification when it came to children accessing obscene material online, Kate Ruane with the Center for Democracy and Technology said the high court appeared more skeptical on blanket social media bans like what VanValkenburg wants.
“This law is emphatically not about content that is obscene as to minors; it is about all content on social media and burdens everyone’s access to that content,” Ruane said in an interview Thursday.
Still, VanValkenburg argued the broad nature of the bill could allow it to pass constitutional muster.
"This is content neutral. This is platform neutral, and so I think that this law is a reasonable attempt to balance free speech with the safety and privacy of our children," he said. "And I think the courses are gonna see it that way."
Ruane said similar laws in other states are already on hold by courts over those constitutional concerns.
Barring judicial intervention, Virginia’s law is set to go into effect January 1st.
Attempts to reach Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, or incoming AG Jay Jones, who will likely have to defend the law, were not returned.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
