Age Verification Laws Secria

Age Verification LawsSocial media

Social media age verification laws by state

At least 13 states have laws that require age checks or a parent's consent for minors on social media. Most have been challenged in court, and in October 2026 the appeals court let Florida and Georgia enforce theirs.1, 2, 3

Checked 29 October 2026 against the sources.

Where each law stands

This list covers the laws in court, plus New York and California, whose age check duties start in 2027. It is not every state social media law.

StateLawStatusLatest step
FloridaHB 3 (2024), social media partCan be enforcedBlocked 3 Jun 2025. The appeals court paused the block on 25 Nov 2025 and reversed it on 14 Oct 2026.1, 2
GeorgiaSB 351 (2024)Parental consent for account agreements with children 15 and younger.Can be enforcedBlocked 26 Jun 2025. The appeals court vacated the block on 15 Oct 2026.3, 4
MississippiHB 1126 (2024)In forceBlocked 18 Jun 2025, block paused 17 Jul 2025. The Supreme Court declined to lift the pause on 14 Aug 2025. Appeal heard 3 Feb 2026.5, 6
TennesseeHB 1891 (2024)In forceThe court refused to block it on 20 Jun 2025. Appeal heard 4 Feb 2026.7
NebraskaLB 383 (2025)Partly blockedInjunction granted in part and denied in part, 27 Jun 2026.8
TexasHB 18 (2023), SCOPE ActPartly blockedBlocked in part 30 Aug 2024. The appeals court upheld that on 24 Jul 2026, and Texas asked the full court to rehear it on 28 Aug 2026.9
CaliforniaSB 976 (2024), ch. 321Age checks for personalized feeds from 1 January 2027.Partly blockedOn 9 Sep 2025 the appeals court found the like-count default likely unconstitutional and called the age check challenge premature. Rehearing denied 6 Nov 2025.10, 11, 12
New YorkSAFE for Kids Act and the Attorney General's rulesAge checks, or a parent's consent, before personalized feeds for under-18s.Starts 25 Jan 2027Final rules released 28 Jul 2026.13, 14
OhioSocial Media Parental Notification Act (2023)BlockedDeclared unconstitutional 16 Apr 2025. The appeals court ruled against the block on 18 Jun 2026, then held its ruling back on 17 Aug 2026, so the block stays for now.15
ArkansasSB 396 (2023), Act 689; amended by Act 900 (2025)BlockedAct 689 permanently blocked 31 Mar 2025; Arkansas appealed on 30 Apr 2025. Act 900 blocked 20 Apr 2026.16, 17
LouisianaSB 162 (2023), Act 456BlockedPermanently blocked by the district court on 15 Dec 2025. Louisiana appealed.18
UtahSB 194 (2024)BlockedBlocked 10 Sep 2024. Appeal heard 20 Nov 2025.19
VirginiaSB 854 (2025)BlockedBlocked 27 Feb 2026. Virginia appealed on 3 Mar 2026.20
 Statuses as of 29 October 2026. Court steps come from the courts where cited, and otherwise from the case timelines NetChoice, the challenger, publishes. This page is not legal advice.

How to read a status

Blocked is not the same as struck down

Most of these rulings are preliminary injunctions: a pause while the case goes on. An appeals court can pause or undo one, as it did in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, and the law can then be enforced while the case continues.2, 3, 6 The Supreme Court's Mississippi order was not a ruling on whether the law is constitutional.5

Accounts or feeds

Many of these laws govern who can open an account, and on what terms. California and New York instead govern personalized feeds: a platform must check that a user is an adult, or get a parent's consent, before showing a minor a feed picked by an algorithm.10, 13

What comes next

  1. California's age check duty for personalized feeds begins.10
  2. New York's SAFE for Kids Act takes effect. The Attorney General can seek up to $5,000 per violation.14
  3. Appeals decisions in Mississippi and Louisiana (Fifth Circuit), Tennessee (Sixth), Arkansas (Eighth), Utah (Tenth) and Virginia (Fourth), and Texas's rehearing request in the HB 18 case.6, 7, 9, 16, 18, 19, 20

Questions people ask

Which states have social media age verification laws in effect?

As of 29 October 2026, Mississippi's and Tennessee's laws are in force, and Florida's and Georgia's can be enforced after the October 2026 appeals rulings. Nebraska's and Texas's are partly blocked.2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9

Why are social media age verification laws blocked?

NetChoice, a tech industry group, argues they violate the First Amendment. Courts have agreed in some states and not in others: the Ninth Circuit, for example, blocked California's like-count rule as likely unconstitutional but let other parts stand.10

Did the Supreme Court rule on social media age verification?

Not on the merits. On 14 August 2025 it declined to lift the pause on the Mississippi block, with Justice Kavanaugh writing separately.5 Its 2025 ruling upholding Texas's law was about adult sites.21

Does New York require age verification for social media?

From 25 January 2027, for personalized feeds. Platforms must offer at least one way to check age other than a government ID, and delete or de-identify what they collect right after use.14

Sources 21
  1. CCIA and NetChoice v. Uthmeier (Florida, 2024), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  2. Computer & Communications Industry Association v. Attorney General of Florida, No. 25-11881, opinion of 14 October 2026, US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Read 29 October 2026.
  3. Carr secures major victory in defense of Georgia's social media law, 15 October 2026, Georgia Attorney General. Read 29 October 2026.
  4. NetChoice v. Carr (Georgia SB 351), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  5. Docket 25A97, NetChoice, LLC v. Fitch, Supreme Court of the United States. Read 29 October 2026.
  6. NetChoice v. Fitch (Mississippi), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  7. NetChoice v. Skrmetti (Tennessee), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  8. NetChoice v. Hilgers (Nebraska), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  9. CCIA and NetChoice v. Paxton (Texas, 2024), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  10. NetChoice, LLC v. Bonta, No. 25-146, opinion of 9 September 2025, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Read 29 October 2026.
  11. SB 976, Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, Chapter 321, Statutes of 2024, California Legislative Information. Read 29 October 2026 from the Internet Archive copy of 3 October 2026.
  12. NetChoice v. Bonta (California SB 976), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  13. SAFE for Kids Act implementing rules, Part 700 of Title 13 NYCRR, New York Attorney General. Read 29 October 2026.
  14. Attorney General James and Governor Hochul release final SAFE for Kids Act rules, 28 July 2026, New York Attorney General. Read 29 October 2026.
  15. NetChoice v. Yost (Ohio), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  16. NetChoice v. Griffin (Arkansas, 2023), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  17. NetChoice v. Griffin (Arkansas, 2025), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  18. NetChoice v. Murrill (Louisiana), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  19. NetChoice v. Brown (Utah), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  20. NetChoice v. Jones (Virginia), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 29 October 2026.
  21. Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, No. 23-1122, decided 27 June 2025, Supreme Court of the United States. Read 29 October 2026.

Court steps are checked against the court record where we could reach it, and against the challenger's published timeline otherwise. How we check