COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Ohio’s law requiring parental consent for children to have social media accounts, days before it’s scheduled to take effect.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday, preventing the state from enforcing its “Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act.” The law requires social media companies to verify the age of users and seek parental consent for users under 16 and was slated to take effect on Jan. 15.

The law, tacked onto the state budget in July, was championed by elected officials including Lt. Gov. Jon Husted as a way to protect children from exposure to harmful or inappropriate content online. But the lawsuit, filed by internet trade association NetChoice, contends the law infringes on the free speech rights of internet users and companies and is too broad and vague to enforce.

NetChoice, whose member organizations include TikTok, Meta and other social media companies, has sued other states for similar laws aimed at addressing children’s access to obscene content and exposure to online harassment.

In his order, Judge Algenon Marbley appeared sympathetic to the claims of both internet companies and the state, but noted that it was “unlikely” that the government could show the act is sufficiently narrow in its scope.

“Foreclosing minors under sixteen from accessing all content on websites that the Act purports to cover, absent affirmative parental consent, is a breathtakingly blunt instrument for reducing social media’s harm to children,” Marbley wrote.

NetChoice seeks a preliminary injunction against the act, which would prevent it from going into effect while the lawsuit proceeds. Both parties will be in court Feb. 7 for a preliminary injunction hearing.

Read the order below.