Texas may soon become law, one of the strictest social media rules for minors, including making people under the age of 18 illegal on social media.
House Bill 186 not only prohibits minors from creating new social media accounts on services like Tiktok, Instagram, and X, but also requires age verification for all others who have created new accounts. Under the law, parents can ask for the removal of minors’ social media accounts and require the platform to delete the account within 10 days, or face fines and lawsuits. Legislators supporting the bill say it will address the mental health hazards social media poses to teenagers.
The bill has passed the Texas House and still needs to pass the state Senate and get signatures from Gov. Greg Abbott. A similar law passed in Utah last year but was blocked by a federal judge a few months later. The legal battle over social media restrictions in Florida is also underway.
If the bill passes
If passed, the bill will come into effect on September 1 and will be punished on January 1, 2026. The deadline for the legislature to pass the bill is June 2.
A law passed in Texas in 2023 is designed to protect children from social media sites by limiting the types of data they can collect and what types of advertising or financial transactions can be displayed to minors.
The bill was challenged in the court and its provisions have been blocked by a ruling from the district court.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, said the new bill, if passed, would face the same legal barriers as the scope.
“The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering the legality of this law, so it will have a serious impact on how Texas enforces the Scope Act, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Supreme Court cannot force the website to verify the age of its users, but in a political environment, in a political environment, we emphasize the right to return to factions, and we may see the court in this politics.”
Rottinghaus believes that social companies will fight the new rules, “but there may be no choice in the end.”
In addition to efforts to limit social media by the state, the motivation to pass an age restriction law at the national level.
“Being a federal law will require a big boost, but the political dialogue about it is certainly at its peak,” Rottinghaus said.
The Texas Legislature may also enter HB 499 law, which will require social media platforms to display warning labels about mental health. The bill also passed in Texas homes.
