I have three things to say about this.
The Texas Legislature is poised to impose sweeping restrictions on how minors use social media, from banning them from signing up for accounts and requiring parental consent to download applications, to placing warning labels about their dangers.
House Bill 186, filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, has already passed with bipartisan support in the House, and a Senate panel has indicated its support as well. The proposal, the most far-reaching of the bills lawmakers have filed to address online dangers this session, would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites, such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and more, and require users to verify their ages. Companies would have to comply with the ban by April 2026.
“Like so many parents across our state, I’ve watched my children grow up in a world that feels less and less safe, not because of where they go physically, but because of where they go online, in spaces that my wife and I can not possibly monitor at all times,” said Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, co-sponsor of the bill, during a State Affairs Committee hearing last week.
The bill would also allow parents to request the deletion of their child’s social media account, and a company must comply within 10 days.
Under this bill, any website that allows users to curate and create content is considered a social media website and cut off from minors. News and sports websites will be safe.
As of June 2024, 10 states, including Texas, have passed laws restricting children’s access to social media, according to the Age Verification Providers Association.
However, a ban on social media for Texans under 18 would be the strictest regulation of the social media industry. Currently, Florida is the only other state with a ban on social media, but it’s only for minors under 14, and they are working to extend the ban to those under 16.
Last week, lawmakers sent Senate Bill 2420, by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, establishing age verification requirements and mandating parental consent before a minor is allowed to download or make purchases within software applications. Lawmakers are also considering House Bill 499, by Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, which would require social media platforms to have a warning label about the association between a minor’s social media usage and significant mental health issues.
“We have the ability and the power to act today. With House Bill 186, we confront the evil before us and boldly say, ‘You cannot have our children,’” Hinojosa said in an emotional address to lawmakers.
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This isn’t the first time Texas has attempted to rein in social media, but each attempt has ended in a court debate.
“House Bill 186 conflicts with Texas contract law and undermines teens’ right to access information, express themselves, and participate in the digital economy,” said Megan Stokes, state policy director of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, in a news release. “A 14-year-old can legally work in retail or food service in Texas, but this bill would prevent them from even having a social media account.”
Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 18 into law in 2023, known as the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act. The SCOPE Act requires certain social media platforms to provide minors with certain data protections, prevent minors from accessing harmful content, and give parents tools to manage their child’s use of the service.
It also required school districts to obtain parental consent for most software and social media applications used in the classroom and look for internet alternatives for instruction.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has already sued TikTok twice under this law, accusing the company of violating deceptive trade law by downplaying its addictiveness and exposing children to explicit material.
The suit argues that TikTok, a short-form video app, violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by listing itself on app stores as appropriate for children and not effectively enforcing its community guidelines. The Apple App Store lists TikTok as rated for those 12 and older, while the Microsoft and Google Play Stores list the app as appropriate for users 13 and older.
TikTok has denied these allegations, and the issue has been playing out in court since last year, with various student groups and internet providers suing Paxton for violating First Amendment rights.
Opponents of this new batch of social media bills told lawmakers the same thing would happen again.
“The way this bill is currently written, it would end up restricting the First Amendment rights of minors,” Stokes told lawmakers Thursday. “Many Texas teens rely on these online platforms to connect with their peers, to share their interests, to find support for personal or academic growth, and this will be taken from them.”
1. I take no position on the wisdom or effect of these bills, though the latter one by Rep. González seems to be the least intrusive and disruptive of the three. No question that social media is generally bad for kids and needs a whole lot more oversight. You’ll forgive me if I have my doubts that bills put forth by Texas Republican legislators are likely to be the best way forward on those matters. Also, and this is my favorite part, my kids are now both over eighteen, so this is officially Not My Problem anymore.
2. There are legitimate First Amendment issues here, as was the case with the still–blocked SCOPE Act, still being fought out in the courts. This too will be fought tooth and nail, and it will be good business for many lawyers. By the way, does Donald Trump know that Ken Paxton is being mean to TikTok?
3. If instead of a state law being passed, the city of Austin had passed an ordinance mandating any of these things for social media companies, the state of Texas would be on them like a ton of bricks, all in the name of allowing for a consistent set of rules for businesses to follow. But the state passing a law that will be a big outlier on the national scene in this way, well, that’s just fine. I just wanted to note that for the record.