Georgia SB 351 (Social Media)
What it does
Georgia SB 351, the Protecting Georgia's Children on Social Media Act of 2024, requires social media companies to make commercially reasonable efforts to verify account holders' ages and to bar anyone under 16 from holding an account without a parent or guardian's express consent. It also cuts advertising to minors down to contextual ads, ending targeting based on browsing history or behavior.
Why it matters
Verifying that a user is over or under 16 means verifying everyone, so an age gate on a Georgia teenager becomes an ID gate on every Georgia adult. Judge Amy Totenberg blocked the law days before its July 1, 2025 start date, finding it likely violates the First Amendment.
Our take
Georgia copied the parental-consent template and drew the same injunction that stopped laws in Ohio, Arkansas, and Utah. The Eleventh Circuit appeal decides whether age-gating speech survives in the South, and Attorney General Chris Carr is pushing it there.
Timeline
- April 23, 2024Signed by Governor Brian Kemp
- July 1, 2025Scheduled to take effect; blocked days earlier
- March 10, 2026Eleventh Circuit heard the appeal
Legal challenges
Preliminarily enjoined June 2025 (Judge Totenberg, N.D. Ga.); Eleventh Circuit heard the appeal Mar 10, 2026, ruling pending
Our coverage: all age-verification stories · Status checked July 19, 2026