NetChoice Sues to Block Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection law

On November 17, 2025, NetChoice filed a lawsuit against Virginia in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to stop SB 854. This new law, set to go into effect on January 1, 2026, bars Virginians’ access to valuable, lawful speech simply because it happens online. Citizens will have to hand over their sensitive documentation to access digital services. It also imposes a one-hour, government-mandated time limit on “social media” use. Specifically targeting “social media” means that if you wanted to watch a documentary or discuss current political issues on those services for more than an hour, you would be forced to stop watching or discussing and pick it up tomorrow, just because the government says so. Such a restriction is no different than a law that curbs the time spent reading books, watching documentaries on TV or even having in-person conversations, and it violates the First Amendment.