District Court Denies Injunction on Kids Social Media Bill in Fl. Case
The U.S. District Court for Northern Florida on Thursday denied a Computer and Communications Industry Association motion for a preliminary injunction against a state kids social media bill. CCIA failed to show likelihood of standing, the court said.
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“Standing is not a technicality, but a constitutional requirement that must be satisfied for any federal court to exercise jurisdiction over an action,” said Judge Mark Walker. “Plaintiffs bear the burden to establish standing, and at the preliminary-injunction stage, they must do so by coming forward with evidence demonstrating a substantial likelihood of establishing standing. Here, Plaintiffs have failed to carry that burden.”
CCIA Senior Vice President Stephanie Joyce said they are looking into next steps. "CCIA and NetChoice are evaluating all avenues for addressing Judge Walker's Order and further demonstrating that they indeed have standing to pursue this challenge to Florida HB3 on behalf of their members. This law is an unconstitutional infringement of protected speech."
CCIA co-filed a lawsuit in case 24-00438 with NetChoice in October 2024 against HB-3, which prohibits kids 13 and younger from creating social media accounts and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to create accounts, alleging that the bill violates the First Amendment, conflicts with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and is unconstitutionally vague. Former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) asked the court Jan. 13 to dismiss the case and opposed CCIA’s motion for a preliminary injunction (see 2501140043), which CCIA opposed on Feb. 14 (see 2502180042).