NetChoice Fights Georgia Law That Creates a Cybersecurity Nightmare & Restricts Free Speech and Parental Choice

ATLANTA—Georgia’s government passed yet another unconstitutional law, this time violating its citizens’ First Amendment rights, compromising their security and their children’s digital safety, and stripping parents of their rights. Today, NetChoice sued to stop it with our new lawsuit, NetChoice v. Carr (2025). 

SB 351 forces Georgians to surrender their sensitive personal information to access constitutionally protected speech online, violating core constitutional principles NetChoice has successfully defended in courts across the country.

And the courts agree with us—NetChoice has already permanently blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Ohio because these heavy-handed government mandates violate the First Amendment. Georgia’s law is no different. 

“NetChoice is suing because Georgians deserve meaningful solutions that actually protect families online—not unconstitutional restrictions that create cybersecurity risks, undermine parental authority and infringe free-speech rights,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation. “Georgia’s SB 351 unconstitutionally blocks access to protected online speech and forces Georgians to surrender their private information just to use everyday digital services. That’s unconstitutional, as several other states have now been told by courts. We’re fighting to keep online communication safe and free in the Peach State.”

The government cannot condition access to protected speech—especially not on users surrendering their private information, according to the courts. Additionally, the Supreme Court has held that states cannot restrict access to protected speech simply because they think it may be unsuitable for children. Georgia’s law does exactly that and will likely ultimately be halted.  

Worse yet, it creates a cybersecurity nightmare for parents and takes away their authority over their families. In mandating the collection of sensitive identity documents from everyone, Georgia is essentially creating a massive honeypot of personal data that will be irresistible to hackers, cybercriminals and predators.

Look at the evidence—just last year, Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles suffered a cyberattack that compromised 6 million records. School districts nationwide faced 108 ransomware attacks in 2023 alone. And the Identity Theft Resource Center reported 1.7 billion notices sent to Americans about their data being breached in 2024. Georgia’s law would only exacerbate these risks by forcing more data to be collected. 

Parents—not government bureaucrats—should decide what’s appropriate for their children online. The tech industry provides robust parental control tools that empower families to make decisions based on their unique values and children’s maturity. Georgia’s government should be working with industry to educate parents about these existing solutions instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate.

NetChoice is taking Georgia to court over SB 351 to defend constitutional rights, digital safety and solutions that actually protect families online. We hope to work with Georgia policymakers on meaningful and constitutional solutions to digital challenges.

Read the complaint here. 

Find full case resources for NetChoice v. Carr (2025) here. 

Read the exclusive on the filing of NetChoice v. Carr by Kim Jarrett at The Center Square here. 

Top Takeaways of NetChoice v. Carr (2025):

1. Blocking access to protected speech online violates the First Amendment: Georgia’s government passed a law, SB 351, conditioning access to protected speech online on whether users are willing to forfeit sensitive documentation to digital services. This violates First Amendment rights and will result in Georgians losing access to legitimate speech online. The courts agree—NetChoice has successfully permanently blocked two similar laws in Arkansas and Ohio.
2. Georgia’s law poses a serious threat to cybersecurity and online safety: By mandating that users go through identity verification processes, Georgia’s government unintentionally risks the security of all their citizens—especially minors—by putting their most sensitive documents and information into a honeypot for online predators and cybercriminals to exploit. 
3. Prevents social media from providing family-friendly advertising: By prohibiting the ability of social media websites to disseminate personalized ads, this law actively makes it more difficult for social media companies to take steps to ensure that minors are shown content that is appropriate.
4. SB 351 usurps parents and seizes their role for the State: Parents and guardians are best situated to determine their family’s online presence—not big government red tape that puts safety, security and free speech in jeopardy.