Jacob Ogles
Snapchat wants a federal Judge to pause a lawsuit from Attorney General James Uthmeier until courts determine if Florida’s social media restrictions violate First Amendment rights.
Snap, Inc., the parent company for the popular communication platform, filed a motion asking U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker to dismiss the case, or at least put the matter on hold until a separate tech industry challenge to Florida’s social media law plays out.
Uthmeier in April sued Snap for knowingly violating a social media law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year. That law bars anyone under age 14 from having a social media account, and requires 14- and 15-year-olds to obtain parental permission to have one.
Uthmeier says Snapchat has addictive social media features clearly covered by the law, including doomscrolling and push notifications, yet the platform has continued to market itself to users as young as 13.
But a lawsuit filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice on behalf of the tech industry have alleged Florida’s law violates the U.S. Constitution. The CCIA represents a number of social media platforms including Snap.
“As this Court is aware, last year Florida adopted House Bill 3 (‘HB 3’), which seeks not only to prevent teenagers from accessing a vast amount of constitutionally protected speech on social media sites but to essentially require all users to disclose their personal biographical information in order to continue use of those platforms,” reads a motion to stay filed by Snap’s attorneys.
The brief argues Uthmeier’s Office prematurely filed its lawsuit against Snap knowing the Florida law’s constitutionality remained an open question. It suggests that Walker either puts the Snap lawsuit aside pending resolution of the CCIA lawsuit, or dismiss it entirely, arguing Uthmeier’s Office failed to state a valid cause of action.
Of note, CCIA attorneys have acknowledged in the separate lawsuit that Snapchat likely would be covered by the state law. But within hours of that concession, the state sued Snapchat rather than waiting for the case to be fully resolved.
“The state’s new lawsuit lays to rest any doubt that Plaintiffs have standing,” CCIA attorneys wrote, “and indeed have had standing all along.”
For his part, Uthmeier when filing the lawsuit against Snap argued the company cannot openly defy the state law while acknowledging in court it falls under statutory definitions.
“Snap is deceiving Florida parents about the dangers children face on the app, from behavioral addictive features to allowing sexual predators and drug dealers access, and we cannot allow this deception to continue,” Uthmeier said in a statement in April.
