Pritzker plans to sign social media law despite criticisms
[June 23, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Illinois may now face one less potential hurdle
enacting a law requiring social media and other online platforms to
verify the age of users and restrict content harmful to minors.
The law passed through the state legislature unanimously, despite claims
by social media industry giants that the law is unconstitutional.
The Illinois “Children's Online Safety Act” was passed by the General
Assembly at the end of May and now just awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s
signature before the law would take effect.
Late last week, a similar law in Ohio was allowed to move forward after
having been held up by a federal court’s injunction for more than two
years, a break from decisions on similar laws in other states.
The injunction came after NetChoice, a leading tech industry trade
association, sued to block the law in Ohio on the grounds that it was
unconstitutional.
Patrick Hedger, a representative of NetChoice, made a similar argument
to Illinois lawmakers in the final days of the legislative session in
May – noting the law would likely invite similar legal scrutiny.
“[The bill] imposes precisely the kind of content and speaker-based
interference that Moody [v. NetChoice] held requires meaningful First
Amendment justification,” Hedger said. “NetChoice has secured
injunctions against such censorious laws in Arkansas, Louisiana and
Ohio. Implementing such measures in Illinois would likely meet the same
fate and lead to costly legal challenges.”
On the Illinois law, Pritzker said Monday that, despite concerns
presented by NetChoice about constitutionality, he plans to keep it
moving forward.
“I'm always concerned to protect people's freedom of speech, so let's
just say that, no question about it. I don't see that problem with our
Children's Social Media Safety Act. I proposed that social media safety
act, and so I intend to sign it,” Pritzker said.
The Illinois law differs from many of the other states that have
attempted to implement online age-verification.
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A pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution rests on an American flag.
Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square
Instead of placing the requirement solely on the platform, a device
manufacturer or operating system developer would instead be required
to verify a user’s age as the device is set up, and provide a more
simple age range of the user to a platform.
The difference, according to lawmakers, is intended to preserve the
privacy of users by not allowing age-related data to leave the
device beyond initial verification.
Amy Bos, the vice president of government affairs for NetChoice,
previously told The Center Square that the law seeks to address
something that should be the responsibility of parents.
“The gap really isn't in the tools available. I think education and
parental empowerment do work, unconstitutional mandates don't,” Bos
said. “Florida and Virginia really kind of led the way on this in
their digital literacy tools in their teen online safety courses.
And we've been promoting that. A privacy law also goes a very long
way to robust privacy protections.”
The Illinois law indicates that methods of parental consent to
restrict or allow content are defined by the federal “Children’s
Online Privacy Protection Act,” which leaves methods of verification
up to the approval of the FTC.
In recent weeks, representatives from NetChoice have called on
Pritzker to outright veto the legislation.
NetChoice did not respond to The Center Square's request for comment
Monday.
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