Gov. Spencer Cox says Utah will sue social media companies for 'harm and damage' to children

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says his state is preparing to sue social media companies for the "harm and damage" that they are allegedly afflicting upon children. 

"We're going to be suing social media companies for -- for the harm and damage that they're -- they're causing our young people," Cox said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation." 

Starting in March 2024, Utah will be the first state to implement a law preventing minors from accessing social media without parental consent. The law will also restrict minors from using social media at certain times of day and will require all Utah-based social media users to verify their age, according to StatesScoop.

Cox also said on Sunday that he expects the social media companies to sue Utah over this law and that he expects the Supreme Court to rule on it at some point in the future.

"There's not just a correlation between social media use and an increase in – in suicide, anxiety, depression, self-harm. There is a causal link there," he added.

His comments come after a federal judge ruled last week that the Biden administration must refrain from communicating with social media companies to remove content protected by the First Amendment.  

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.