More Laws Aimed At Keeping Kids Safe Online

In 2024, Maryland legislators passed the Kids Code, requiring tech companies to design online products with children’s best interests in mind if the age group is likely to access them.

It’s part of a growing trend of state laws regulating companies that interact online with minors.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld a Texas law limiting children’s access to sexual materials online through age verification, finding that the law did not violate the First Amendment.

The state laws vary in content but can include parental consent rules or requirements that companies design their products and services to ensure children’s safety. These efforts often face legal challenges over what critics say are unconstitutional restrictions of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.

Some states, especially in the South, have focused on children’s access to social media. They have passed laws to ensure companies verify their users are adults or that young users have parental permission.

State laws also focus on banning children’s access to pornography and protecting them from predators.

Louisiana in 2022 was the first state to pass an age-verification law, requiring online companies with significant adult content to check IDs to ensure users are at least 18. A wave of similar legislation followed in the next two years. As of July, 24 states had enacted age-verification laws.

In California, officials approved a law in 2022 requiring businesses to prioritize the privacy, safety, and well-being of children under 18 when designing, developing, and offering online services, features, and products. It also mandates that businesses study and document whether a new service, product, or feature is likely to be accessed by children.

A separate law enacted in 2024 bans social media platforms from sending notifications to minors during school hours and late at night, and from knowingly providing minors with so-called addictive feeds without parental approval.

In January, the Federal Trade Commission finalized updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which was enacted in 1998. The revisions strengthen restrictions on how children’s data is used and targeted advertising.

While some recent state laws address privacy issues related to children’s data, many focus on restricting or making it harder for children to use certain apps.

Last year, Florida enacted a law prohibiting children under 14 from having social media accounts and requiring that children aged 14 and 15 have accounts only with parental permission. Additionally, the law mandates that social media sites close any existing accounts for children.

WHY THIS MATTERS... The US Supreme Court decision on the Texas law allowed it to stand by applying the lower standard of review for assessing the law’s constitutionality. This means many of these laws could withstand a First Amendment challenge.