A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting Utah's new child safety law that mandates social media platforms to verify user ages. On Tuesday, Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled in favor of NetChoice, a tech trade association, which argued that the law likely infringes on First Amendment rights.

The law, set to take effect on October 1st, requires social platforms to not only verify the ages of their users but also enforce strict privacy settings on children’s accounts and disable features that encourage excessive use, such as endless scrolling and push notifications.

Despite amendments made to address concerns about free speech, Judge Shelby found that the law still failed to meet constitutional standards. He acknowledged the state’s intent to protect young people but emphasized that even well-meaning regulations must pass rigorous First Amendment scrutiny.

NetChoice, which includes major tech firms like Meta, Snap, Google, and X, had previously succeeded in blocking similar child safety laws in other states, including Mississippi, California, Arkansas, and Ohio. The organization also won a Supreme Court case related to content moderation.

Chris Marchese, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, expressed optimism about permanently overturning such laws, stressing that they not only violate constitutional rights but could also have unintended negative consequences for those they aim to protect.