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    4. Youth Online Safety Laws: U.S. State Law Tracker

    Youth Online Safety Laws: U.S. State Law Tracker

    Several U.S. states have passed novel legislation aimed at protecting teens on social media platforms and other online services. We developed the Youth Online Safety Laws U.S. State Law Tracker to help businesses stay informed and navigate the evolving online safety legislative landscape. The Tracker provides a bird's-eye view of the various state online safety laws that have passed, their effective dates and key concepts/obligations. We will periodically update the Tracker as more states pass relevant laws or to reflect key changes in the existing laws.

    Key developments in May 2024:

    • Tennessee enacted the Protecting Children from Social Media Act, requiring parental consent and parental supervision tools for minors under 18.
    • Maryland enacted the Maryland Age Appropriate Design Code Act (the “Kids Code”).
    • Virginia amended the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act with provisions related to children under 13.

    Key developments in April 2024:

    • Georgia enacted the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024, requiring parental consent for users under 16 to create accounts on social media platforms, among other things. Other sections of the Act impose social media restrictions and online safety curriculum development for Georgia schools and enact age-verification requirements for sites that provide access to “harmful materials.”

    Key developments in March 2024:

    • Utah repealed and replaced the Social Media Regulation Act with HB 494 (which can only be enforced by a private right of action), and passed a second online safety law SB 194.
    • Florida passed a second online safety law prohibiting minors under 14 from having accounts on certain social media services.

    For more information about the online safety laws or children’s privacy laws and how they may impact your business, please reach out to Emily Tabatabai, Sulina Gabale or another member of our Online Safety Team.

      Statute Effective Date Age Age Verification / Assurance Mechanism Social Media Ban Parental Consent / Rights Direct Messaging Hidden from Search Targeted Ads Geolocation Data Minimization Algorithms Automated Processing / Profiling Limited Hours of use Mental Health/Risk of Harm Dark Patterns Addiction DPIA Content Moderation Private Right of Action

    Arkansas

    		 Social Media Safety Act SB396; Act 689 09/01/20231 <18 Age Verification   ✔                            

    Ohio

    		 Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1349.09 01/15/20241 <16 Unclear   ✔                         ✔  

    California

    		 Age Appropriate Design Code
    Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.99.28–40    		 07/01/20242 <18 Age Assurance   ✔       ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔   ✔    

    Connecticut (§7)

    		An Act Concerning Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections SB3, §7, Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-528 07/01/2024 <18 None   ✔                            

    Florida

    		 Protection of Children in Online Spaces
    Fla. Stat. § 501.1735    		 07/01/2024 <18 Age Assurance   ✔     ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔      

    Louisiana

    		 Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act La. Stat. Ann. §§ 51:1751–59 07/01/2024 <16 Age Assurance (minor)
    Age Verification (parent)    		   ✔ ✔   ✔   ✔     ✔            

    Texas

    		 Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act
    Tex. Bus. & Com.Code Ann. §§ 509.001–152    		 09/01/2024 <18 Self-reported (minor)
    Age Verification (parent)    		   ✔     ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔     ✔   ✔ ✔

    Utah3
    REPEALED

    		 Social Media Regulation Act
    Utah Code Ann. §§ 13-71-101–401    		 10/01/2024 <18 Age Verification   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔   ✔     ✔     ✔

    Utah (HB 464)4
    NEW

    		 Social Media Amendments
    §§ 78B-3-1101-1106    		 10/01/2024 <18 None   ✔           ✔   ✔ ✔   ✔     ✔

    Utah (SB 194)4
    NEW

    		 Social Media Regulation Amendments §§ 13-71-101-104 10/01/2024 <18 Age Assurance   ✔ ✔ ✔     ✔     ✔     ✔      

    Connecticut (§ 8-13)

    		 An Act Concerning Online Privacy, Data and Safety Protections SB3, §8-13, Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-529 10/01/2024 <18 None     ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔    

    Maryland
    NEW

    		 The Maryland Age Appropriate Design Code Act (“The Kids Code”), HB 603/SB 571 10/01/2024 <18 None   ✔       ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔    

    Florida5
    NEW

    		 An Act Relating to the Online Protections for Minors, HB3, §501.1736 01/01/2025 <15 Unclear ✔ ✔            ✔          ✔      ✔ 

    Tennessee
    NEW

    		 Protecting Children from Social Media Act, HB 1891, TN Code §§ 47-18-5701 to 5706 01/01/2025 <18 Age verification   ✔                ✔             

    Virginia6
    NEW

    		 Consumer Data Protection Act; Protections for Children, HB707, VA Code §59.1-575 et seq. 01/01/2025 <13 None   ✔     ✔ ✔ ✔             ✔    

    Georgia
    NEW

    		 Protecting Georgia's Children on Social Media Act, SB 351, 
    GA Code §39-6-1    		 07/01/2025 <16 Age assurance    ✔     ✔    ✔                ✔   
    1 Statute enforcement temporarily blocked; litigation ongoing.
    2 Though appeal of injunction is pending, in January 2024, the CA legislature proposed two new bills that may replace the CA AADC.
    3 With petition for injunction pending, UT legislature delayed effective date and indicated in court filing that the Legislature may repeal and replace UT SMRA. In February 2024, UT legislature introduced two replacement bills.
    4 Utah's HB 464 repealed and replaced the Utah Social Media regulation Act. SB 194 passed simultaneously, in part to replace Social Media Regulation Act. Signed into law by Governor 3-13-2024.
    5 Florida's HB3 signed 3-25-2024 to ban users <14 from social media serivces and require parental consent for users 14-15. Narrow definition of social media services in scope.
    6 Virginia's HB707 amends the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act and applies only to children under 13. It is included in this chart because of the geolocation data provisions and requirement to provide a signal indicting the collection of precise geolocation data, which is similar to provisions found in other Online Safety Laws.

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