A federal appeals court has cleared the way for Ohio to enforce a strict law requiring parental consent for children under 16 to create or maintain accounts on major social media platforms. The ruling, issued on June 18, 2026, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, lifts a previous injunction and allows the Buckeye State to move forward with one of the toughest youth online safety measures in the country.
Ohio’s Parental Notification and Consent Act mandates that platforms including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube must obtain verifiable parental consent before permitting minors under 16 to sign up or continue using their services. The law also requires platforms to provide parents with tools to monitor and limit their children’s activity. Tech companies had challenged the measure, arguing it violated free speech protections and imposed unrealistic compliance burdens.
The appeals court sided with Ohio, determining that the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from harmful online content, addiction risks, and data privacy concerns. The decision rejected arguments that the law was overly broad, noting it targets only account creation and includes exemptions for educational and certain nonprofit uses.
Meta, ByteDance (TikTok’s parent), and Google have expressed disappointment with the ruling and are evaluating further legal options, including a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Industry groups warn the requirement could fragment the online experience for teens and raise significant technical and privacy challenges for age verification and parental consent systems.
The Ohio law, originally passed in 2025, now joins a growing wave of state-level efforts to regulate youth social media use. Similar proposals are advancing in other states, while the federal government continues to debate broader online safety legislation. The ruling is expected to prompt platforms to accelerate rollout of enhanced age-gating and parental control features nationwide as they prepare for potential enforcement in Ohio later this year.