We strongly urge Governor Youngkin to veto Senate Bill 854, which presents significant First Amendment concerns.
SB 854 rations access to protected speech for minors by limiting their ability to engage with speech on “social media platforms” to one hour per day. Such rationing cannot be squared with the First Amendment interests minors have in engaging in protected speech free of government interference.
As courts across the country have recognized, the government may not, consistent with the First Amendment, restrict minors’ access to social media websites. Indeed, as Justice Scalia memorably put it, such restrictions “do not enforce parental authority over children’s speech and religion; they impose governmental authority, subject only to a parental veto.”