• by Wendy Davis , June 12, 2026

More than two dozen states are urging a federal judge in Nebraska to allow enforcement of a law requiring social platforms to verify users' ages and prohibit anyone under 18 from creating accounts, without parental permission.

"The Act is a quintessential consumer-protection law," attorneys general from 26 states and the District of Columbia argue in a proposed friend-of-the-court brief filed Friday with U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard.

They add that the state's Parental Rights in Social Media Act "protects Nebraska’s most vulnerable citizens from predatory business practices," and that it "regulates only commercial activity with children, not speech."

"There is no disputing that the Act does not directly regulate expression," the attorneys general contend. "Becoming an account holder is not itself speech -- it is a commercial transaction."

The Nebraska law also requires platforms to give parents tools to monitor minors' messages with other users. Unless blocked, the statute will take effect next month.

The attorneys general's argument comes in a lawsuit brought last month by the tech group NetChoice -- which counts social media platforms including Meta, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok as members.

The organization says the law violates the First Amendment rights of adults as well minors, and is seeking an injunction blocking enforcement.

The statute's requirements "restrict a breathtaking amount of core First Amendment activity," NetChoice wrote in its request for an injunction.

The group adds that the law restricts minors' ability to access social media "even if all a minor wants to do is attend online church services, participate in the launch of a presidential campaign, or communicate with friends and family."

The statute also "burdens the rights of adults" by requiring them to verify their age in order to create social media accounts, the group argues.

Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers opposes NetChoice's request, arguing in papers filed earlier this month that the group isn't in a position to assert the First Amendment rights of social media users.

Hilgers also claims the law regulates "commercial transactions," not speech, and that the provision requiring platforms to give parents tools to monitor children's messages enables parents to supervise their children.

"Surely parents have a right to know who their child contracts with and to supervise their conduct online."

The outside attorneys general, led by Florida and Iowa, similarly oppose NetChoice's petition. They argue in the friend-of-the-court brief that the law "zeroes in on commercial activity, regulating only platforms’ 'account holder' contracts with children."

Nebraska is one of numerous states to pass laws attempting to regulate social media use by minors.

Other states with comparable laws include Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Utah, Ohio, Texas and Tennessee.

Most district court judges have blocked all or part of those measures, but state attorneys general have appealed. So far, the 5th Circuit and 11th Circuit have sided with state officials and allowed laws in Mississippi and Florida to take effect.