BATON ROUGE, La.—Today, NetChoice sued Louisiana to stop SB 162, a new law that forces citizens to surrender private information to access protected speech online—violating the First Amendment and putting millions at risk.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, is to halt a government mandate blocking access to free, protected speech online by conditioning that access on whether a Louisianan is willing to surrender their private information. This violates the Constitution and risks the safety and security of all citizens.
“Louisiana’s SB 162 is a fiasco for free speech and online safety. Forcing citizens to hand over sensitive documents just to access lawful content online is a gift to hackers and a nightmare for cybersecurity. Worse, it sidelines parents and lets the government decide how families use the internet. Bad laws don’t protect families—strong, constitutional ones do,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation. “NetChoice is suing to confirm Louisiana’s government upholds freedom and the Constitution and to ensure families and their digital safety are protected.”
Top Takeaways of NetChoice v. Murrill:
- Blocking access to protected speech online violates the First Amendment: Louisiana’s government passed a law, SB 162, 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 Louisiana citizens losing access to legitimate online speech.
- Louisiana’s law poses a serious threat to cybersecurity and online safety: By mandating that users go through identity verification processes, Louisiana’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. In Louisiana, this threat isn’t theoretical; hackers in 2023 attacked the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles that compromised the data of 6 million Louisianans.
- 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.
- SB 162 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.
We’re fighting to ensure online communication remains safe and free in the Pelican State.
Read our initial complaint here, and find a webpage with case resources for NetChoice v. Murrill here.
Read the exclusive from Madeline Hughes at MLex Market Insights on the lawsuit here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.