Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

A federal court upheld Ohio's age verification law for social media and websites, a report found over 600,000 Black Ohioans did not vote in the 2022 midterms, and Ohio lawmakers abandoned efforts to regulate data centers amid tax break disputes.

A divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to restore Ohio's law requiring parental consent for children under 16 to use social media apps. The decision, which rejects NetChoice's challenge, mandates that platforms obtain parental permission and disclose privacy guidelines. Ohio's law, part of a 2023 budget bill, aims to protect children's mental health by giving parents oversight over their online activity.

A divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that Ohio’s law requiring parental consent for children under 16 to use social media must be restored. The 2-1 decision rejected claims by NetChoice, a trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, and Meta, that the law was unconstitutional. The law, part of Ohio’s 2023 state budget, aims to protect children’s mental health by requiring parental permission and transparency about platform terms.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is supporting Kalshi in an appeals court case against Ohio, arguing that the agency has jurisdiction over prediction markets. The case is being heard in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The outcome may have implications for the regulation of prediction markets.