Sixth Circuit Revives Ohio Social Media Parental Consent Law in Split Ruling, Fueling National Debate on Minors' Online Access

A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on June 18, 2026, that Ohio may enforce its Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring social media platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing users under 16 to create accounts or access services. The 2-1 decision reversed a permanent injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in April 2025, which had blocked the law on First Amendment grounds following a lawsuit by NetChoice, a tech industry trade group representing Meta, TikTok, and others.

Writing for the majority, Circuit Judge Eric Clay described the parental consent requirement as imposing only a 'marginal burden' that targets harms from unsupervised minor access to platforms known to exploit attention and contribute to mental health issues. The ruling emphasizes parental oversight over corporate terms of service. Judge Alice Batchelder joined the opinion, while a dissent highlighted concerns over vagueness and overbreadth.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost hailed the decision as empowering parents against platform harms, aligning with broader efforts to address youth mental health crises linked to social media. NetChoice vowed to explore further options, noting prior successes blocking similar measures in Arkansas and California.

This ruling stands out amid sparse mainstream analysis, contrasting NetChoice's wins elsewhere and echoing international moves like Australia's 2024 ban on under-16s. It tests the boundaries of state authority in tech regulation, parental rights, and minors' speech rights, potentially influencing pending cases in Tennessee and beyond while spotlighting evidentiary debates on social media's causal role in adolescent distress.