On November 17, 2025, NetChoice filed a lawsuit against Virginia in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to stop SB 854. This new law, set to go in effect on January 1, 2026, bars Virginians’ access to valuable, lawful speech simply because it happens online. Citizens will have to hand over their sensitive documentation to access digital services. It also imposes a one-hour, government-mandated time limit on “social media” use. Specifically targeting “social media” means that if you wanted to watch a documentary or discuss current political issues on those services for more than an hour, you would be forced to stop watching or discussing and pick it up tomorrow just because the government says so.
Such a restriction is no different than a law that curbs the time spent reading books, watching documentaries on TV or even having in-person conversations, and it violates the First Amendment.
NetChoice is confident it will be struck down and stopped from taking effect while our case moves through the legal system.
Read NetChoice’s initial complaint here.
Contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.
Our Team
Paul Taske
Court Filings
- NetChoice Complaint, filed November 17, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Virginia filed a motion to dismiss NetChoice’s Complaint on January 26, 2026.
On February 27, 2026, the district court granted NetChoice’s motion for preliminary injunction.
- NetChoice filed a motion for preliminary injunction on November 21, 2025
- Memo in support of the motion
- Virginia filed its opposition to NetChoice’s preliminary injunction motion on December 19, 2025.
- NetChoice filed its reply brief in support of the motion for preliminary injunction on January 8, 2026.