Bill Amendment: IL HB5511 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: DIGITAL AGE ASSURANCE

Status: 2026-06-26 - Sent to the Governor [HB5511 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5511-Senate_Amendment_001.html

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Sen. Willie Preston

Filed: 5/27/2026

 

 

 

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5511
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5511 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Children's Online Safety Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Account holder" means an individual who is at least 18
years of age or a parent or legal guardian of a user who is
under 18 years of age in this State. "Account holder" does not
include a parent or legal guardian of an emancipated minor or a
parent or legal guardian who is not associated with a user's
device.
"Addictive feed" means a website, online service, online
application, or mobile application, or a portion thereof in
which multiple pieces of media generated or shared by users of
a website, online service, online application, or mobile

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application, either concurrently or sequentially, are
recommended, selected, or prioritized for display to a user
based, in whole or in part, on information associated with the
user or the user's device, unless any of the following
conditions are met:
(1) the recommendation, prioritization, or selection
is based on information that is not persistently
associated with the user's device and does not concern the
user's previous interactions with media generated or
shared by other users;
(2) the recommendation, prioritization, or selection
is based on data controlled by user-selected privacy or
accessibility settings or technical information concerning
the user's device;
(3) the user expressly and unambiguously requested the
specific media, media by the author, creator, or poster of
media the user has subscribed to, or media shared by users
to a page or group the user has subscribed to, provided
that the media is not recommended, selected, or
prioritized for display based, in whole or in part, on
other information that is not permissible under this
definition;
(4) the user expressly and unambiguously requested the
specific media by a specific author, creator, or poster of
media the user has subscribed to, or media shared by users
to a page or group the user has subscribed to as described

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by paragraph (3), be blocked, prioritized, or
deprioritized for display, provided that the media is not
recommended, selected, or prioritized based, in whole or
in part, on other information associated with the user or
the user's device that is not permissible under this
definition;
(5) the media is direct and private communication
between users;
(6) the media is recommended, selected, or prioritized
only in response to a specific search inquiry by the user;
(7) the media that is recommended, selected, or
prioritized for display is exclusively next in a
preexisting sequence from the same author, creator,
poster, or source; or
(8) the recommendation, prioritization, or selection
is necessary to comply with the provisions of this Act.
"Addictive social media platform" means a covered platform
that offers users or provides users with an addictive feed as
part of the service provided by that website, online service,
online application, or mobile application.
"Age assurance" encompasses a range of methods used to
determine, estimate, or communicate the age or age bracket of
a user.
"Application" means a software application that may be run
or directed by a user on an Internet-enabled device.
"Content" means user-to-user text or an image or video

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upload.
"Covered minor" means a user of an Internet-enabled device
who an account holder has indicated to be under the age of 18.
"Covered operator" means any person, business, or other
legal entity that owns, maintains, or controls:
(1) a covered platform; or
(2) an addictive social media platform.
"Covered platform" means a public or semi-public website,
online service, online application, or mobile application
that:
(1) is used by a covered minor in this State;
(2) allows users to construct a public or semi-public
profile for the purposes of using such website, service,
or application; and
(3) has the primary purpose of allowing users to
create or post content that is viewable by other users,
including, but not limited to, on message boards, in chat
rooms, or through a landing page or main feed that
presents the user with content generated by other users.
"Covered user" means a user of a covered platform who is a
resident of this State.
"Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver,
transfer, transmute, circulate, or disseminate by any means.
"Gifted currency" means a currency transfer between users
involving fiat currency or digital currency purchased with
fiat currency and used within a covered platform whether or

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not it can be converted to money.
"Internet-enabled device" means a smartphone, tablet, or
personal laptop or desktop computer that provides cellular or
wireless connectivity, is capable of connecting to the
Internet, runs an operating system, and is capable of
downloading and running applications.
"Known adult" means any user that a covered platform has
actual knowledge, or should have known, based on knowledge
fairly implied under objective circumstances, is at least 18
years of age.
"Operating system" means the system software that manages
the hardware of an Internet-enabled device and allows programs
and applications to run on the device.
"Operating system provider" means a commercial or
non-profit entity that controls the Internet-enabled device's
operating system, including the design, programming, or supply
of operating systems for the Internet-enabled devices.
"Parent" means a parent or legal guardian.
"Precise geolocation information" means information
derived from technology, including, but not limited to, global
positioning system level latitude and longitude coordinates or
other mechanisms, that directly identifies the specific within
a radius of 1,750 feet. "Precise geolocation information" does
not include the content of communications.
"Processor" means a person that processes personal data on
behalf of a covered operator or another processor.

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"Publish" means to communicate or make information
available to another person or entity on a publicly available
website, online service, online application, or mobile
application.
Section 10. Age assurance requirements.
(a) An Internet-enabled device provider that offers an
account setup feature for an Internet-enabled device shall:
(1) provide an accessible interface at account setup
that requires an account holder to indicate the birth
date, age, or both, of the primary user of that device for
purposes of providing a signal regarding the primary
user's age bracket to covered operators;
(2) provide a covered operator who has requested a
signal with respect to a particular user with the
technical ability to call a digital signal by a reasonably
consistent application programming interface, where the
user or account holder has agreed to share the user's age
bracket data, that contains the user's age bracket data;
and
(3) send only the minimum amount of information
necessary to comply with this Act and not share the
digital signal information, or any information that
conveys the user's age bracket data, with a third party
for a purpose not required by this Act, except where
legally required.

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(b) For all users that the covered operator under this
Section has actual knowledge to be a covered minor or has
received a signal indicating that the user is a covered minor,
the covered operator shall use the following settings by
default:
(1) The covered operator shall not display the
existence of the covered minor's account on a covered
platform to any known adult user unless the covered minor
has expressly and unambiguously allowed a specific known
adult user to view the covered minor's account or has
expressly and unambiguously chosen to make the covered
minor's account's existence public.
(2) The covered operator shall not display media
created or posted by the covered minor on a covered
platform to any known adult user unless the covered minor
has expressly and unambiguously allowed a specific known
adult user to view the covered minor's media or has
expressly and unambiguously chosen to make the covered
minor's media publicly available.
(3) The covered operator shall not permit any known
adult user to like, comment on, or otherwise provide
feedback on the covered minor's media on a covered
platform unless the covered minor has expressly and
unambiguously allowed a specific known adult user to do
so.
(4) The covered operator shall not permit direct

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messaging on a covered platform between the covered minor
and any known adult user unless the covered minor has
expressly and unambiguously decided to allow direct
messaging with a specific known adult user.
(5) The precise geolocation information of the minor
shall not be shared with any user unless the minor has
expressly and unambiguously chosen to share the covered
minor's location with the specific user.
(6) No user may receive or send gifted currency to the
minor unless the user is already connected to the covered
minor.
(7) The covered operator shall disable search engine
indexing of the covered minor's account profile.
(c) A parent of a covered minor or a covered minor
determined by a covered operator to be over the age of 16 may
override the default privacy settings described in subsection
(b). A parent of a covered minor may override the default
privacy settings described in subsection (b) for a covered
minor under the age of 16. A covered operator shall not provide
a covered minor with a single setting that makes all the
default privacy settings less protective at once. A covered
operator shall not request or prompt a covered minor to make
the covered minor's privacy settings less protective, unless
the change is strictly necessary for the covered minor to
access a service or feature that they expressly and
unambiguously requested.

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(d) For all users determined by a covered operator to be a
covered minor, the covered operator shall provide a mechanism
that enables a parent to set a monthly limit on all gifted
currency related to the covered minor's account. The covered
operator shall establish a mechanism by which a parent of a
covered minor may easily view a history of all gifted currency
related to the covered minor's account at any time.
(e) It shall be unlawful for a covered operator under this
Section to, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., send
notifications to a covered user unless:
(1) the covered operator has actual knowledge that the
covered user is not a covered minor;
(2) the covered operator has obtained verifiable
parental consent to send notifications during the time
restricted under this subsection; or
(3) the notification contemporaneously notifies the
covered user of a direct message received from another
user of the covered platform.
(f) It shall be unlawful for a covered operator of an
addictive social media platform to provide an addictive feed
to a covered user unless:
(1) the covered operator of the addictive social media
platform has actual knowledge that the covered user is not
a covered minor; or
(2) the covered operator of the addictive social media
platform has obtained verifiable parental consent to

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provide an addictive feed to a covered minor.
(g) It shall be unlawful for a covered operator of an
addictive social media platform to enable the automatic
playing of media to a covered minor by default.
(h) A covered operator of an addictive social media
platform may choose not to provide services to minors. A
covered operator of an addictive social media platform shall
not withhold, degrade, lower the quality, or increase the
price of any product, service, or feature, other than as
necessary for compliance with the provisions of this Act, to a
covered user solely because the covered operator of the
addictive social media platform is not permitted to provide an
addictive feed to the covered user under this Act.
(i) All information collected from a minor for the purpose
of obtaining the verifiable parental consent required under
this Section shall not be used for any purpose other than
obtaining verifiable parental consent and shall be deleted
within a reasonable period after an attempt to obtain
verifiable parental consent, except where it is necessary for
compliance with any applicable provisions of State or federal
law.
(j) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
requiring a covered operator to give a parent who grants
verifiable parental consent any additional or special access
to or control over the data or accounts of the parent's child.
(k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit

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a covered operator from instituting a privacy setting for
covered minors or other users that is more protective than
that required by this Section.
(l) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
requiring a covered operator to remove any user-generated
content or preventing access to information regarding sex,
sexuality, gender, and reproductive health that is not already
prohibited by existing law.
(m) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
preventing any actions taken in good faith to restrict access
to or availability of any media.
Section 15. Privacy protections for age assurance data.
(a) During the process of conducting age assurance,
covered operators shall:
(1) only collect personal data of a covered user that
is strictly necessary for determining a covered user's
age;
(2) immediately upon determining whether a covered
user is a covered minor, delete any personal data
collected of that covered user for age assurance, except
the determination of the covered user's age;
(3) not use any personal data of a covered user
collected for age assurance for any other purpose;
(4) not combine personal data of a covered user
collected for age assurance, except the determination of a

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covered user's age, with any other personal data of the
user;
(5) not disclose personal data of a covered user
collected for age assurance to a third party that is not a
processor; and
(6) implement a review process to allow covered users
to appeal the age determination.
(b) No information collected or transmitted for purposes
of age assurance under this Act may be used for any purpose
other than compliance with this Act.
Section 20. Application.
(a) A covered operator that complies with the provisions
of this Act shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies in a
covered user's age.
(b) A covered operator that receives a digital age signal
pursuant to this Act may rely upon that signal for purposes of
compliance with this Act and shall not be required to
independently verify the age of the user.
(c) A covered operator that reasonably relies on a digital
age signal provided by an Internet-enabled device provider
shall not be liable for an inaccurate age determination
resulting from an erroneous signal.
(d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a
covered operator the ability to prevent, detect, protect
against or respond to security incidents, identify theft,

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fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive activities or any
illegal activity targeted at or involving the developer or its
services, preserve the integrity or security of systems or
investigate, report or prosecute those responsible for any
such action.
(e) This Act does not apply to any bona fide news or public
interest broadcast, website, video, report, or event and shall
not be construed to affect the rights of any news-gathering
organization.
(f) This Act does not apply to a broadband Internet access
service provider, including any affiliate or subsidiary of the
provider. This Act does not create a private right of action or
cause of action to enforce any violation or alleged violation
of its provisions against a broadband Internet access service
provider, including any affiliate or subsidiary of the
provider, when the violation is alleged to be committed by
another entity using the provider's service. As used in this
subsection, "broadband Internet access service provider" has
the meaning set forth in 47 CFR 8.1.
Section 25. Enforcement.
(a) The Attorney General or the State's Attorney of any
county in this State may bring an action in the name of the
People of this State against any person to restrain and
prevent any pattern or practice in violation of this Act.
(b) A violation of this Act constitutes an unlawful

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practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and authority granted
to the Attorney General or the State's Attorney by the
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be
available to the Attorney General or the State's Attorney for
the enforcement of this Act.
(c) Any civil penalties collected from the enforcement of
this Act shall be deposited as follows: (1) if the Attorney
General commenced the action, any penalty shall be deposited
into the Attorney General Court Ordered and Voluntary
Compliance Payment Projects Fund; and (2) if a State's
Attorney commenced the action, any penalty shall be
distributed to the county and deposited into a special fund in
the county treasury and appropriated to the State's Attorney
for use in accordance with law.
(d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish a
private right of action associated with violations of this
Act.
Section 30. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2MMMM as follows:
(815 ILCS 505/2MMMM new)
Sec. 2MMMM. Violations of the Children's Online Safety
Act. Any person that violates the Children's Online Safety Act
commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.

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Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2027.".