We all remember signing up for our first online account. Whether it was MySpace, Facebook or TikTok, there was that little sense of “Hello, internet, I’m here too!” And you could just pick a username, click a box to agree to who-cares-what terms and conditions and, in some cases, select an age from a drop-down menu. And that was all there was to it. No gateway. No one to tell you no, or question what you were signing up for. Easy.
But maybe it was too easy. Usernames were mostly harmless, even if getting the exact one you wanted was a minor inconvenience. Agreeing to terms and conditions? Who was really going to hold you to any of that stuff. That was more for the website’s sake than yours. What about that age though? You could put any age you wanted. You could be 13, 16, 18 or 21 as easily as you could be any other age. Some simple math and you could claim to be whatever age you wanted to be.
The Ohio’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act
And that’s what Ohio’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act hopes to address. Originally signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in 2023 as part of House Bill 33, it was to take effect in January, 2024. However, days before it was to go into effect, a coalition of tech companies, including Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat, filed a federal lawsuit (NetChoice v. Yost) which blocked the enforcement of the law.
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The law targeted website operators, apps, and online gaming platforms whose typical clientele were children. By mandating that these entities obtain verifiable parental consent before a minor could open an account, it would effectively end that age loophole that past and present minors used to access online content. NetChoice argued that this law violated the First and Fourteenth amendments. Judges ultimately agreed, but the battle wasn’t over.
In June 2026, the injunction blocking the act was lifted. A court decision concluded that the mandate imposed only a “marginal burden” on free speech and that it was tailored to target documented harm towards unsupervised social media use by minors. The legal back-and-forth is far from over though as NetChoice has filed requesting a rehearing. But this has put Ohio back in the national spotlight for what state-level digital age restrictions might look like.
Parents’ perspective
If the law is upheld, what will that mean for Toledo-area parents? Parents would receive digital consent forms any time youths attempt to sign up for one of the affected online accounts. The form could include a video call or other government ID verification procedures.
As more studies show the detrimental effect of social media on our youth, global pressure for such laws is mounting. Australia’s prohibitive Social Media Minimum Age Act has been in full effect since last December with early impressions reporting that 60% of parents say they are seeing positive behavioral changes, such as more face-to-face family time. Earlier this year Brazil’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents went into effect. Differing from Australia’s total ban, it is a more comprehensive version of the proposed Ohio act, forcing parents to take online responsibility for their younger family members until they turn 18. Other countries are currently writing their own laws, effectively presenting an international reassessment of how children access technology.
Though Ohio’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act may be the subject of further courtroom debate, it’s never too early for Toledo area parents to start talking about why these changes are being considered in the first place. The digital landscape has evolved and parents need to have, and to use, the tools to protect their children online.
