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Social media age verification usually falls into one of two categories: laws to set and enforce age thresholds for the use of social media, and laws to protect young people from harmful content and age-inappropriate experiences while using social media. Not all laws apply to all servers, and some laws have express protections or don’t apply to small, personal or non-commercial activities.
Many countries have laws that are not specific to social media, but prohibit data collection from minors. Each country and jurisdiction is different, and one way to ascertain the likely minimum age is to review Google’s age requirements for a Google account.
In all cases, if your service also allows the publishing of pornographic content, additional laws may apply. For example, several US states have introduced new laws that require adult content websites to perform “reasonable” age verification. Fines for companies failing to meet age verification requirements can total up to $10,000 per day. Specific requirements for age verification vary by state. Mississippi requires “pornographic media” to have age verification systems in place and specifies “reasonable methods,” such as commercial age verification systems that verify a user’s age with a government-issued ID or “any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data.” In Utah, any website with adult content that “fails to perform reasonable age verification methods” could be held liable for “damages resulting from a minor’s accessing the material.” Texas requires adult content websites to use “reasonable age verification methods,” suggesting the submission of a government-issued ID, “verification through an independent, third-party age verification service,” or usage of a “commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data” to verify users’ ages as potential pathways for verification.
Australia
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 is a blanket ban on social media for children under 16, and will come into effect November 2025.
European Union
GDPR requires that your users are at least old enough to give consent for their personal data to be processed, if you rely on consent under Article 8 of GDPR, as a basis for processing some or all personal data you obtain from your users. The age of digital consent varies between EU member states so if you have users in the EU, you will need to also determine their location and apply the relevant age as part of this check. Many services set a minimum age for users in their terms and conditions. The default age in the EU is 16, so while a 15 year old in Germany may be permitted to open an account under the terms and conditions of the platform, they may still need their parents’ permission if their personal data is to be processed based on their consent.
Video sharing sites that publish material are subject to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) which contains specific rules to protect minors from inappropriate on-demand media audiovisual services.
In Germany, minors between the ages of 13 and 16 are allowed to use social media in Germany only if their parents give consent. Belgium enacted a law in 2018 requiring children to be at least 13 years old to create a social media account without parental permission. In Italy, children under the age of 14 need parental consent to sign up for social media accounts, while no consent is required from that age upwards.
In France, the SREN Law (Sécurité et Régulation de l’Espace Numérique – Security and Regulation of the Digital Space) requires sites to obtain approval of a user’s parent or guardian if they are under 15, using technical solutions that comply with guidelines set out by the French Arcom regulator. Social media firms that breach the law will face a fine of up to 1 percent of their global revenues. The law will also allow parents to request suspension of accounts belonging to their children under 15 and will require sites to offer tools to limit the time children spend on the platform.
Norway
Children under the age of 13 require parental consent to use social media. Regulation is being proposed to raise the threshold to 15.
United Kingdom
The Online Safety Act is is a new set of laws that protects children and adults online. It puts a range of new duties on social media companies and search services, making them more responsible for their users’ safety on their platforms.
United States
Connecticut SB 3 Requires social media platforms gain parental consent before allowing minors to open accounts.
Georgia SB 351 also known as the “Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024,” requires social media platforms to implement age verification processes for users, mandates parental consent for minors to create accounts, and restricts social media use in schools.
Florida HB 3 Requires social media platforms to verify users’ ages, obtain parental consent for users under 18, protect minors’ personal data, and limit their exposure to harmful content.
Louisiana Act 456 Requires social media platforms to impose limitations and restrictions on certain accounts, implement age verification for account holders, and obtain parental consent.
Maryland Kids Code requires social media platforms to set default high privacy settings for users under 16, ban the collection of children’s data for personalised content, ensure age-appropriate design, implement age verification, and obtain parental consent for younger users.
Minnesota MN HF3488 Sets rules for compensating minors who contribute to online content creation. It requires content creators to keep records and set aside earnings for minors, and it allows for legal action against violators. Also mandates the removal of content featuring minors upon request.
Texas HB 18 requires digital service providers such as social media platforms to get consent from a parent or guardian before entering into an agreement with minors younger than 18, including to create an account.
Tennessee HB 1891 Requires social media companies to verify the age of users attempting to create or maintain accounts. It mandates that platforms obtain parental consent for minors under 18 and enforces stricter privacy and safety measures for these users. The law aims to protect minors from potential online harms by ensuring that social media companies comply with these new regulations.
Utah HB 464 & SB 194 The Social Media Regulation Act requires parental consent for minors to create social media accounts and mandates age verification by social media companies. It also restricts social media use between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM for users under 18 without parental consent.
