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

As of March 27, 2024

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 birds-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.

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 680 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 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REPEALED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 10/01/2024 <18 None     ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔   ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔    

Florida5
NEW

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

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