Arkansas Acts 900/901 (Social Media, 2025)
What it does
After Act 689 was struck down, Arkansas came back in 2025 with a pair. Act 900 rewrites the Social Media Safety Act: age verification for new accounts, minors redefined as under 16, parental dashboards, notification limits, and fines up to $10,000 per violation. Act 901 lets parents sue a platform if their child develops an eating disorder, attempts suicide, or becomes addicted to its feeds. NetChoice sued again, and the same federal court enjoined Act 901 in December 2025 and Act 900 in April 2026, both before they took effect.
Why it matters
This is the test of whether a state can redraft its way around a First Amendment loss. Three NetChoice v. Griffin appeals are now stacked at the Eighth Circuit together, making it one of the decisive venues for state age laws. And the Sixth Circuit's Ohio ruling gave every one of these states a new argument: that NetChoice cannot bring these cases at all.
Our take
Arkansas lost in court, treated the ruling as drafting notes, and passed the same idea twice more. That is the pattern everywhere: the losses do not stop the laws, they refine them. Whoever wins at the Eighth Circuit sets the rules for the whole region.
Votes
- Senate — Act 900 (SB 611) final passage (29 to 2)
- House — Act 901 (SB 612) passage (91 to 2)
Timeline
- December 15, 2025Act 901 preliminarily enjoined in NetChoice v. Griffin
- April 20, 2026Act 900 preliminarily enjoined
Previous versions
- 2023
Legal challenges
Both acts preliminarily enjoined; Arkansas's appeals pending at the Eighth Circuit
Related bills
Our coverage: all age-verification stories