A US federal judge ruled Tuesday that Florida cannot enforce a law that requires social media companies to block children 14 years or younger from using their platforms.

Chief US District Judge Mark Walker for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, granted a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the law passed by the Florida legislature in 2024.

Industry trade groups that represent Snap, operator of Snapchat; Google, parent company of YouTube; and Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, filed the lawsuit last October, claiming the law will cause economic harm to the social media companies by requiring them to implement age verification and parental identification processes. “And maintaining those systems ‘will require substantial resources, including a large ongoing investment in the human resources necessary to evaluate the identities and familial relationships’ of users,” the complaint stated.

The defendant in the lawsuit, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, alleges that current parental control tools are inadequate to address the harms that have been linked to social media use among young people.

Walker’s order suggests that parents may not be using the controls that exist because they are unaware of them, unsure of how to use them, or are not as concerned as state lawmakers about social media use among young people. The court suggests instead a public education campaign as a more appropriate response rather than limiting free speech. “The First Amendment recognizes the rights of youth to learn, to refuse to salute the flag, to protest war, to view films, to play video games, to attend political rallies or religious services even without the authorization of their parents, and more,” Walker wrote.

If enacted, the law would likely ban young people under age 14 from having accounts on social media platforms and would ban 14 and 15 years from the sites unless a parent consents.