HB26-1148 Protections for Youth on Social Media

HB26-1148

Protections for Youth on Social Media

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Children & Domestic Matters |
Concerning protections for minors who access certain social media.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

Under the bill, a "covered business" is defined as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation, an association, or another legal entity, or an affiliate of such a legal entity, that:

• Conducts business in the state and generates a majority of its annual revenue from online services;
• Makes available online gaming services, products, or features that are reasonably likely to be accessed by a user who is a minor or who the covered business labels as a minor (covered minor);
• Collects users' personal data or has users' personal data collected on its behalf by a processor; and

• Solely or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of users' personal data.
  The bill states that a covered business that processes the personal data of a covered minor owes a minimum duty of care to the covered minor. The bill also requires a covered business to:

• Configure default privacy settings provided to a covered minor to the highest level of privacy and to include certain default settings;

• Provide a prominent, accessible, and responsive tool to allow a covered minor to request that the covered minor's account be unpublished or deleted and, if the business receives such a request, to honor it within 15 days; and

• Immediately delete all data that relates to the determination of a user's age after it is determined that the user is a covered minor.
  The bill prohibits a covered business from:

• Providing a covered minor with a single setting that makes all of the default privacy settings less protective at once;

• Requesting or prompting a covered minor to make their privacy settings less protective;

• Collecting, selling, sharing, or retaining personal data of a covered minor that is not necessary to provide an online gaming service, product, or feature with which the covered minor is actively and knowingly engaged;

• Using previously collected personal data of a covered minor for any purpose other than a purpose for which the personal data was collected;

• Permitting an individual to monitor the online activity of a covered minor or to track the location of the covered minor without providing a conspicuous signal to the covered minor when the covered minor is being monitored or tracked;

• Using the personal data of a covered minor to select, recommend, or prioritize media for the covered minor unless the covered minor makes certain requests or takes certain actions warranting such conduct by the covered business; or

• Sending push notifications to a covered minor between 12 midnight and 6 a.m.
  The bill imposes additional specific requirements and prohibitions for a covered business that collects users' personal data for the purpose of conducting age assurance.

The bill requires a covered business to ensure that the purchase price for an online gaming service, product, or feature that is made available through the covered business's online gaming service, product, or feature and that is reasonably likely to be accessed by a covered minor is listed in United States dollars at the point of sale.

A covered business shall impose and collect a fee on each add-on transaction that is conducted by a covered minor through the covered business's online gaming service, product, or feature. The amount of the fee is 5% of the amount of the transaction. Money collected as such fees is credited to the state public school fund.

The bill requires a social media platform to provide certain information on its website or mobile application concerning privacy policies and the use of algorithms. A social media platform is prohibited from using an algorithmic recommendation system to sell or otherwise distribute an illicit substance to a covered minor.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Prime Sponsors

Representative

Yara Zokaie
Representative

Jenny Willford
Senator

Mike Weissman
Senator

Dylan Roberts

Committees

House

Judiciary

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Status

Under Consideration

Introduced

Under Consideration

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Related Documents & Information

• ### Bill Text
• ### Fiscal
• ### Committees
• ### Amendments
• ### Bill History
• ### Sponsors

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/04/2026 | Introduced | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/09/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note | PDF |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Postpone House Bill 26-1148 indefinitely. | The motion passed on a vote of 8-3. | Vote summary |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
Hearing Summary
| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 04/07/2026 | L.011 | HOU Judiciary | Lost | PDF |
| 04/07/2026 | L.010 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/07/2026 | L.009 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/07/2026 | L.007 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/07/2026 | L.006 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [] | PDF |
| 04/07/2026 | L.005 | HOU Judiciary | Passed [*] | PDF |
* Amendments passed in committee are not incorporated into the measure unless adopted by the full House or Senate.

** The status of Second Reading amendments may be subsequently affected by the adoption of an amendment to the Committee of the Whole Report. Refer to the House or Senate Journal for additional information.

| Date | Location | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 04/07/2026 | House | House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely |
| 03/18/2026 | House | House Committee on Judiciary Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only |
| 02/04/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary |
Prime Sponsor

Rep. J. Willford | Rep. Y. Zokaie

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Sen. D. Roberts | Sen. M. Weissman

Sponsor

(None) Co-Sponsor

(None)

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