Will Other States Follow Arkansas in Allowing Parents to Sue Social Media Companies?

On April 21 Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed into law a bill giving parents the right to sue social media companies for harms caused by their content.

The measure, SB 612, establishes a private right of action for parents to sue social media companies “that knowingly or willfully contribute” to harmful behaviors by minors through the content they publish.

More specifically, SB 612 allows Arkansas parents to hold social media platforms accountable for causing their children to:

• commit or attempt to commit suicide,

• purchase a controlled substance,

• develop an eating disorder, or

• develop or sustain a social media addiction.

Social media companies that “knowingly and willfully” violate the law will face civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Jonathan Decker, a senior fellow at the Parkview Institute, a Maryland nonprofit dedicated to “liberty and free markets,” derided the bill as “a giveaway to the plaintiffs bar who will undoubtedly seize upon this broad language to clog our courts with endless litigation.”

But the bill’s enactment in deep-red Arkansas, despite the liabilities it creates for some of the nation’s biggest businesses, underscores the growing vitriol facing social media companies, which have been blamed for serving up content that’s addictive and harmful to children and teens.

And Arkansas is not alone. A number of other states are looking to create similar private rights of action targeting social media companies, while legislatures across the country wrestle with how to regulate potential harms caused by the ubiquitous platforms.

Multiple States Weighing Social Media Liability

So far this year eight states have taken up bills to create a private right of action allowing individuals to sue social media companies, according to the LexisNexis State Net legislative tracking system. One of those states, Arkansas, has enacted such legislation (SB 612).

A search of the LexisNexis® State Net® legislative tracking system turned up over a dozen bills in seven states that would create a private right of action similar to the one established by Arkansas SB 612:

• Iowa HB 278 and HB 798, both of which would create a private right of action for individuals harmed by a social media company’s failure to prevent a minor from holding an account without parental authorization;

• Massachusetts HB 103, HB 104, SB 29 and SB 45, all of which are data privacy measures that would provide a private right of action for violations by covered entities, which include “high-impact social media” companies;

• Montana HB 752, which would create a private right of action against social media companies that provide access to child sexual abuse;

• New York SB 927, which would provide a private right of action for social media companies that violate the measure’s minor access, parental consent and other provisions;

• North Carolina HB 860 and SB 514, which would create a private right of action against social media companies that use a minor’s data for advertising or algorithmic recommendations;

• Rhode Island HB 5291 and SB 929, which would create a private right of action against social media companies that allow a minor to be an account holder without parental consent; and

• South Carolina HB 3431, which would also create a private right of action against social media companies that allow a minor to create a social media account without parental consent.

It’s worth noting there are nearly as many bills in the State Net® database referring to “social media” and “private right of action” that explicitly state they do not create a private right of action. It remains to be seen if the enactment of Arkansas SB 612 indicates a shift of momentum in the direction of the bills that do create that legal course of action. If so, it could be a long year for social media companies.

—By SNCJ Correspondent BRIAN JOSEPH

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