Protecting Kids From Social Media Act
| Protecting Kids From Social Media Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Signed on May 2, 2024 by governor | |
| |
| Effective | January 1, 2025 |
| Status: In force | |
Protecting Kids on Social Media Act or HB 1891 is an American law that was created by William Lamberth of Sumner County, Tennessee and was later enacted by Tennesse's Governor on May 2, 2024.[1][2][3] The bill requires social media websites such as X, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and others to verify the age of users and if those users are under 18, they must have Parental Consent.[4]
Progress
The law passed the Tennessee State Legislature with little opposition: the bill had only two no votes in the House the two no votes were from Aftyn Behn and Vincent B. Dixie and had zero no votes in the Senate.[3]
Bill summary
Every social media company must verify the age of new users after the law takes effect and if the user had created an account before the law took effect, they must verify the age of the person attempting to access the account within 14 days and if the new user or the user who originally owned an account is under 18 years of age they must get parental consent and the third party or social media company must not retain the data from the process from age verification or obtaining parental consent. Parents who are account holders of those under 18 can view the privacy settings, set daily time restrictions, and implement breaks during which the minor cannot access the account. The law is enforced by the Attorney General of Tennessee and takes effect on January 1, 2025.[1][2]
Lawsuit
On October 3, 2024, the trade association NetChoice filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in the Middle District Court of Tennessee, claiming that the law violates the First Amendment.[5][6][7] The Judge for the case is William L. Campbell Jr.[8] An initial case management conference was originally scheduled for December 4, 2024, however, was delayed because of the Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti, recommending that the conference be delayed after January 20, 2025.[9]
As of 7:40 PM Eastern US time on December 31, 2024 (just 4 hours and 20 minutes before the law will take effect in the counties of Tennessee that are in the Eastern Time Zone), this Tennessee social media law does not seem to have been blocked from going into place, despite a similar Tennessee law requiring age verification for pornography having been blocked earlier in the day. [10]
References
- ^ a b Karnbach, Jordan (January 25, 2024). "Bill in Tennessee would require parental consent for kids to have a social media account". WTVC.
- ^ a b "HB1891.pdf (tn.gov)" (PDF).
- ^ a b "Tennessee General Assembly Legislation". wapp.capitol.tn.gov.
- ^ McCullough, Erin (2024-05-03). "Gov. Bill Lee signs social media age verification bill into law". www.wkrn.com.
- ^ "Tech Group Netchoice Targets Tennessee Kids' Social Media Law (1)". Bloomberg Law.
- ^ Jones, Vivian. "Federal lawsuit: Tennessee's social media age verification law violates First Amendment". USA TODAY.
- ^ "NetChoice MISO Motion for Prelim Injunction.docx" (PDF). NetChoice.org.
- ^ "NetChoice v. Skrmetti (3:24-cv-01191), Tennessee Middle District Court". pacermonitor.com.
- ^ gov.uscourts.tnmd.101398.38.0.pdf
- ^ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/tennessees-age-verification-law-for-porn-sites-blocked-in-court