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As of October 9, 2026, there is no single state rule for social media. States are taking different approaches: limiting minors’ access to accounts, requiring parental consent or age checks, changing how platforms deliver feeds and notifications, or giving parents supervision tools. Some requirements are in effect; others are still in rulemaking, proposed, or affected by court orders. The examples below show how those approaches differ, not a complete state-by-state legal survey.
What kinds of social media rules are states adopting?
Most measures affecting young people fall into three groups. Account-focused laws regulate who can create or keep an account. Feature-focused laws target how a platform presents content or sends notifications. Supervision laws require tools that let parents see or manage a minor’s activity.
These categories can overlap. A law may require age checks and parental consent while also requiring platform controls. The legal details that matter are who and what the law covers, what action it requires, how age or consent is established, when the provision applies, and what a young person can still access without consent.
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The National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2026 tracker reports that at least 40 states and Puerto Rico had more than 300 bills and resolutions addressing social media and children during the 2026 legislative session. That is a count of legislative activity, not enacted laws. Separately, an October 2025 Washington State Senate staff report, citing NCSL, said 45 states and Puerto Rico had introduced more than 300 measures on children’s internet use and internet-based communications, and at least 20 states enacted new laws in 2025. That broader count includes subjects such as school cellphone rules, digital literacy and study commissions, so it is not directly comparable to a count of social media laws.
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How do the state approaches compare?
| State and measure | Approach and covered ages | Key requirements | Status and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York SAFE for Kids Act | Feature-focused; users under 18 on covered platforms | Restricts personalized feeds and overnight notifications without parental consent; includes age-assurance and data-handling rules. | Final rules were scheduled for publication July 29, 2026; the Act is stated to take effect January 25, 2027. New York Attorney General, July 2026 release. |
| California SB 976 | Feature-focused; minors on covered online platforms | Restricts addictive feeds and certain features without verifiable parental consent; regulations address age assurance and consent methods. | Enacted in 2024; proposed regulations were under review after public comment, according to the Attorney General’s page. Regulations had a January 1, 2027 adoption deadline. |
| Nebraska Revised Statute 86-1703 | Account access and parental supervision; minors | Generally bars a minor from becoming an account holder without parental consent; requires reasonable age verification and parent supervision tools. | Listed operative date: July 1, 2026. Nebraska Revised Statute 86-1703. |
| Louisiana Revised Statute 51:1752 | Account access and age assurance; all account holders for age-check or minor-accommodation provisions | Requires age verification efforts appropriate to information-practice risks, or minor accommodations for all account holders; minors need express parental or guardian consent for accounts. | Effective July 1, 2025, following a 2024 amendment. Louisiana Revised Statute 51:1752. |
| Illinois SB 2316 | Proposed account and access restrictions; minors | Would require parental consent and third-party age verification, and restrict minor access from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. | Not an enacted law: the General Assembly status page records re-referral to Assignments on June 2, 2025. |
What do the laws require in practice?
New York: control over feeds and nighttime alerts
New York’s SAFE for Kids Act is aimed at platform features rather than a blanket ban on minors’ accounts. The Attorney General’s July 2026 release describes an “addictive feed” as a continuing stream that personalizes content using user data, often showing posts from accounts a user does not follow and presenting them out of chronological order. The rules cover an “Addictive Online Platform” that displays user-generated content and where users spend at least 20% of their time on addictive feeds.
For users under 18, covered companies must restrict those personalized feeds and nighttime notifications unless parental consent is obtained. The release also says a minor must affirmatively seek access to restricted features and consent to parent notification; either the parent or minor can withdraw consent. A user who does not provide consent should not be blocked from general platform access or content solely for that reason.
The rules require platforms to determine that users over 17 are adults before allowing access to covered feeds or nighttime notifications. They must offer at least one age-assurance option other than government ID and use a high-accuracy method. Age and consent data may be used only for the intended purpose and must be deleted or de-identified immediately afterward. Platforms must test their methods annually and retain test results for at least 10 years. The release says the Attorney General may seek civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, among other remedies.
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California SB 976 was signed in September 2024. The Attorney General’s summary says it makes it unlawful for online platforms, including social media, to provide minors with addictive feeds and certain features without verifiable parental consent. The law assigns the Attorney General responsibility for regulations on age-assurance and parental-consent methods.
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According to the Attorney General’s page, proposed regulations appeared in the Notice Register on May 15, 2026. The department was reviewing public comments, after which the Office of Administrative Law would review the rulemaking record. The page set January 1, 2027 as the deadline to adopt regulations. The statute is enacted; that does not mean the proposed regulations were already final.
Nebraska: account eligibility plus parent tools
Nebraska Revised Statute 86-1703 generally bars a social media company from permitting a minor to become an account holder, subject to parental-consent provisions. The company must use reasonable age verification and may use a third-party vendor. Identifying information cannot be retained after verification, and parental consent must itself be verified.
The statute also requires tools for a parent to view a minor’s posts and messages, control privacy and account settings, and monitor or limit time on the platform. Its listed operative date is July 1, 2026.
Louisiana: verify age or apply minor protections to everyone
Louisiana Revised Statute 51:1752 gives social media companies an alternative: make commercially reasonable efforts to verify account holders’ ages at a level appropriate to the risks of their information practices, or apply the chapter’s minor accommodations to all account holders. A minor account requires express parental or guardian consent. The statute lists several possible methods for giving consent, but the available summary does not specify them individually.
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The statute records July 1, 2025 as its effective date after a 2024 amendment changed the earlier date.
Illinois: a bill is not a requirement
Illinois SB 2316, the Parental Consent Social Media Act, proposed express parental consent for minor accounts, third-party age verification, and a restriction on minor access between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The General Assembly’s status page records the bill’s last action as re-referral to Assignments on June 2, 2025. Those provisions should not be described as Illinois law on the basis of that bill status.
Why do age checks and parental consent differ?
Age assurance is the process a service uses to determine whether an account holder is an adult or a minor. The laws vary in what they require and what follows from the result. Some tie age checks to access to particular features; others connect them to account creation or apply minor protections to all users if the platform does not verify age.
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Privacy safeguards are part of the policy design, not a side issue. Nebraska’s statute says identifying information cannot be retained after age verification. New York’s rules, as described by the Attorney General, limit use of age and consent data to the intended purpose and require deletion or de-identification immediately afterward. When assessing another state’s law, check which verification methods are allowed, whether a government ID is required, whether a third party is involved, and what happens to the data after the check.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What role are courts playing?
Some state laws have been challenged on First Amendment and related grounds. The legal questions include how far a state may go to protect children and support parental supervision without burdening protected speech, privacy, or adults’ access to lawful content. Court orders can change whether a law is enforceable, and the status in one state does not determine the status elsewhere.
Mississippi: injunctions and an appeal
An October 2025 Washington State Senate committee staff report recounted this sequence for Mississippi HB 1126: a preliminary injunction in 2024; the Fifth Circuit’s vacating of that injunction and remand in April 2025; a new district court injunction in June 2025; and a Fifth Circuit stay of that injunction in July 2025. The report said the Supreme Court declined NetChoice’s emergency application in August 2025 and the Act remained in effect pending judicial review at the time of the report. This is a dated account in a legislative staff document, not confirmation of the law’s status after that report.
Florida: enforcement while an appeal proceeded
A 2026 Florida Senate bill analysis said the Eleventh Circuit stayed a district court’s preliminary injunction, allowing Florida’s law to be enforced while the appeal proceeded. The analysis describes the law as barring accounts for minors under 14 and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. It also quotes a court’s concern that a state’s authority to enforce parental prohibitions does not automatically give it authority to prevent children from hearing or saying anything without parental permission. That observation is part of the Florida analysis; it is not a ruling that resolves every state law.
How to tell whether a rule applies to you
- Identify the kind of measure. Confirm whether it is an enacted statute, final regulation, proposed rule, introduced bill, or court order. A bill’s text is not a legal requirement unless it becomes law.
- Check the covered service and person. Look for definitions of a social media company, online platform, covered feed, account holder, and minor. Definitions can determine whether a service or feature is covered.
- Read the operative date and rulemaking status. A law may be enacted but not yet effective, or its practical requirements may depend on regulations.
- Check the latest court status. An injunction, stay, or appeal may affect enforcement. Use the state’s official materials and current court docket rather than assuming an outcome based on another state.
- Separate account access from feature access. Determine whether the law limits account creation, a particular feed, notifications, or something else, and what remains accessible without consent.
- Review privacy and consent mechanics. Find out which age-check methods are allowed, whether parental consent must be verified, and whether age or consent data can be retained.
The examples here are representative, not a complete survey of state law. The NCSL activity totals show how much legislation is being considered, but they do not establish that any particular proposal passed or applies in a particular state.
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