Law / United States / 
Arkansas
Act 901 of 2025 (SB612), social media platform civil liability
Act 901 of 2025 (SB612), codified at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-88-1501 to 4-88-1503
In force since partly blocked by a court, under challenge in court.
A social media and minors rule binding private bodies.
- Covered services
- Social media platforms as statutorily defined.
- How the hook was established
- express
- What makes it apply
- User location
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
- Court action
A suit challenging this law is pending. No court has blocked it. Premium data
What it requires
- Applies to social media platforms as statutorily defined. Do not let a platform's design, algorithm or feature cause a minor to suffer harm such as an eating disorder, suicide or attempted suicide, or platform addiction.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text. Also read by: NetChoice, LLC v. Griffin, No. 5:25-CV-5140 (W.D. Ark. ) (recorded ).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
This civil penalty is separate from the uncapped actual and punitive damages available to a parent or guardian under Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 4-88-1503(b).
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 10,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 4-88-1503(a) creates a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation for a knowing and willful violation without naming who may bring that action; a parent or guardian may separately bring a private civil action under Sec. 4-88-1503(b) after a minor's suicide or attempted suicide.
Litigation
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
- Docket
- NetChoice, LLC v. Griffin, No. 5:25-cv-05140 (W.D. Ark.)
- Posture
- Preliminarily enjoined on as likely violating the First Amendment and unconstitutionally vague; the injunction has been reported as on appeal to the Eighth Circuit.
Settledness
The court declined to enjoin section 1503(b), the private right of action, because the defendants disclaim enforcement authority over it.
- As of
- Case link
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-arwd-5_25-cv-05140/pdf/USCOURTS-arwd-5_25-cv-05140-0.pdf
- Case citation
- NetChoice, LLC v. Griffin, No. 5:25-CV-5140 (W.D. Ark. )
- Under challenge
- Yes
- Open questions
- Does 'otherwise advancing, self-harm or suicide' in Section 4-88-1503(b)(1) reach online content that depicts or discusses suicide without encouraging it?
- When content reaches a minor through more than one app or website, which social media platform 'facilitated the immediate connection between the victim and the content' under Sections 4-88-1503(b)(1) and 4-88-1501(a)(1)?
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Section 4-88-1502 bars a social media platform from using a design, algorithm or feature that it knows or should know causes a user to buy a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, attempt suicide or develop an addiction. It names no age check and no record, log or report. The 30 day correction safe harbor in Section 4-88-1502(b) is a defense a platform may prove, not a duty to keep a record.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Creates a private right of action against a social media platform whose design, algorithm, or feature causes a minor to suffer harm such as an eating disorder, suicide or attempted suicide, or platform addiction. Signed and effective with no separate effective date clause.
How courts have read itPremium data
Our analysis of this law draws on 1 court ruling.
What each ruling held, what it means for an app, and whether it still stands are premium data, in the Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.
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