CINCINNATI, Ohio — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court order that blocked enforcement of a Kentucky law regulating social media use by certain offenders, sending the case back to a district judge for further review.
In a decision issued Monday, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction that had prevented county attorneys across Kentucky from enforcing the law. The statute restricts the creation or control of social media accounts by individuals required to register as sex offenders.
The lawsuit was filed by a plaintiff identified as John Doe, who argued the law violated First Amendment free speech protections. A federal judge in western Kentucky had agreed, issuing an injunction that stopped enforcement statewide while the case proceeded.
However, the appeals court ruled that the lower court applied the wrong legal standard. In its opinion, the court said the law primarily regulates conduct — specifically, access to and control of social media accounts — rather than speech itself. Because the law may apply to non-expressive conduct, the court found the constitutional challenge was not sufficient to justify blocking enforcement at this stage.
The judges also noted that the online world includes a wide range of platforms and uses, and said the plaintiff failed to show that the law was unconstitutional in a substantial number of its possible applications.
As a result, the preliminary injunction was lifted, and the case was sent back to the U.S. District Court for further proceedings. The ruling does not decide the ultimate constitutionality of the law, but it allows enforcement to move forward while the case continues.
”We are working relentlessly to protect our kids from predators online,” Attorney General Russell Coleman said after the decision. “Policy makers in the General Assembly passed a common-sense law to keep Kentucky kids safe. We successfully defended that law up to the federal court that’s one level below the Supreme Court of the United States. We will continue to fight against online predators who try to use the anonymity of the internet to harm our kids.”
County attorneys, including Daviess County Attorney John Burlew, are named as defendants in their official capacities. No timeline has been set for further action in the case at the district court level.
