States attempted to censor the online activities of children. Courts and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) largely managed to prevent this: a look back at 2025.

In ten different states, there are lawmakers who believe they can pass laws that prohibit young people from accessing social media, or that require them to obtain parental consent before logging in. Fortunately, almost all courts that have reviewed these laws have ruled that they are unconstitutional. It's not just the courts telling these lawmakers they are wrong. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has filed legal documents with courts across the country over the past year, explaining how these laws violate the constitutional rights of young people to express themselves and access information online. In the process, these laws also restrict the rights of adults and put the privacy and data security of everyone at risk. Minors have long had the same constitutional rights as adults: the right to talk about politics, create art, comment on the news, discuss or practice religion, and more. The internet has simply amplified their ability to speak, organize, and find community. While these state laws vary in scope, most share two key characteristics. First, they require social media services to...

This content has been automatically translated using machine translation. The original version is available in the source language.

This content was automatically translated using machine translation. The original version is available in the source language.