Virginia has taken the next step in contesting a federal judge's decision that temporarily blocks a state statute limiting the daily social media use of children under 16 to one hour. In a court filing made on Tuesday, the state asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to set aside the February 27 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria.
The challenged law, signed last May by then-Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, sought to address what the state described as the "addictive" features of social media and to protect young people’s mental health. It also included a requirement that all users verify their ages. The statute went into effect on January 1 before the injunction halted enforcement.
A trade association, NetChoice, which counts dozens of members among its ranks, brought the legal challenge. The group named several major social media companies as members, including Google and Meta Platforms, and also cited Elon Musk’s X as an example of platforms represented by the association. NetChoice argued that the Virginia law violated the First Amendment by limiting access to speech that it characterized as constitutionally protected, and contended that decisions about children’s social media access are matters for parents to resolve.
In her February 27 ruling, Judge Giles, a judicial appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, acknowledged that the Commonwealth has a compelling interest in shielding children from social media addiction. However, the judge concluded that the statute exceeded permissible bounds in how it attempted to achieve that interest.
With Virginia’s appeal, the 4th Circuit will now consider whether NetChoice is likely to prevail on the central legal claims underpinning its challenge. The appellate court’s assessment will focus on the strength of the constitutional arguments raised by NetChoice and the scope of the state’s asserted interest in the measure.
For now, the preliminary injunction remains in place while the appeals court evaluates the parties’ positions. The filing in Richmond marks the next formal step in the litigation over whether the state may impose time limits and age verification mandates on social media access for minors under 16.