Louisiana age-verification law unconstitutional, federal judge rules

( December 15, 2025, 22:42 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Louisiana's Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act, or SB 162, has been blocked as unconstitutional by a federal judge in a suit filed by industry group NetChoice. "This Court agrees with the majority of district courts that have addressed this issue: If a coverage definition is content-based, then 'the statute as a whole is subject to strict scrutiny because the coverage definition applies in all applications of the statute,'" US District Judge John W. deGravelles wrote in an order that granted a preliminary injunction that SB 162 violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution. "Although States 'possess[] legitimate power to protect children from harm, . . . that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed,' ” deGravelles wrote, and permanently enjoined enforcement of the law to Netchoice members Meta Platforms, Nextdoor, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, X, YouTube, Automattic, Discord, and Twitch.See attached document....