ATLANTA—Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed Senate Bill (SB) 351 earlier today to fanfare at an outdoor bill signing ceremony in Atlanta. SB 351, or the Protecting Georgia's Children on Social Media Act of 2024, is a sweeping child internet safety measure that requires age verification for pornography websites and mainstream social media networks that might not contain adult content.
The bill also requires public school boards to enact social media policies in their communities, with the assistance of the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Education.
"As social media has taken on more and more room in our young people's lives, we have seen increases in mental health struggles and other negative behaviors and attitudes,” Kemp said via the Savannah Morning News and the USA Today Network. “We cannot continue to sit by and do nothing as young Georgians develop addictions and disorders, and suffer at the hands of online antagonists." The bill enters force on July 1, 2025.
SB 351 received opposition due to the methods it prescribes to verify the age of users who log onto adult sites. Sen. Jason Anavitarte, a Republican from the community of Dallas, introduced the bill to largely mirror similar legislation passed in states with age verification requirements. The bill passed through the state legislature only a few weeks ago.
The House of Representatives voted on March 28 to advance SB 351, 120-45, and the Senate voted on March 29 to advance the bill to Gov. Kemp, 48-7.
Civil society and industry groups urged Kemp to veto the bill, arguing that age verification infringes on the First Amendment rights of not only minors but adults. AVN reported on one such group, NetChoice. NetChoice is a trade group made up of the largest technology companies in the United States and is known for challenging states that adopt legislation it views as infringing on its members' and users' rights to online expression.
"SB 351 breaches Georgians’ privacy, endangers security, violates constitutional rights, and creates a one-size-fits-all ‘solution’ that erases parents," explained Carl Szabo, the group's vice president and general counsel, in a press statement today. "This unconstitutional law will not help a single Georgian or family." NetChoice earlier this month requested a veto through a letter to Gov. Kemp.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation opposed the bill. Free Speech Coalition, a trade group representing the adult entertainment industry, tracked SB 351 and opposed it, as it has done other age verification legislation across the United States.
UPDATE (4.23.24):
Mike Stabile, the Free Speech Coalition's director of public affairs, provided AVN with the following statement:
