Bill Text: TX HB186 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting use of social media platforms by children.
Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 20-3)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2025-05-27 - Co-sponsor authorized [HB186 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB186-Comm_Sub.html
| By: Patterson, et al. | H.B. No. 186 | |
| (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa of Nueces) | ||
| (In the Senate - Received from the House April 30, 2025; | ||
| May 5, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on State | ||
| Affairs; May 23, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: | ||
| Yeas 8, Nays 3; May 23, 2025, sent to printer.) | ||
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| relating to prohibiting use of social media platforms by children. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 120.001(1), Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| (1) "Social media platform" means an Internet website | ||
| or application that is open to the public, allows a user to create | ||
| an account, and enables users to communicate with other users for | ||
| the primary purpose of posting information, comments, messages, or | ||
| images. The term does not include: | ||
| (A) an Internet service provider as defined by | ||
| Section 324.055; | ||
| (B) electronic mail; [ |
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| (C) an online service, application, or website: | ||
| (i) that consists primarily of news, | ||
| sports, entertainment, or other information or content that is not | ||
| user generated but is preselected by the provider; and | ||
| (ii) for which any chat, comments, or | ||
| interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related to, or | ||
| dependent on the provision of the content described by Subparagraph | ||
| (i); or | ||
| (D) an online service, application, or website | ||
| used primarily for the purpose of interactive gaming. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 120, Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Subchapter C-1 to read as follows: | ||
| SUBCHAPTER C-1. USER AGE LIMITATION | ||
| Sec. 120.111. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
| (1) "Account holder" means a resident of this state | ||
| who opens an account or creates a profile or is identified by the | ||
| social media platform by a unique identifier while using or | ||
| accessing a social media platform. | ||
| (2) "Child" means an individual who is younger than 18 | ||
| years of age. | ||
| Sec. 120.112. USE BY CHILDREN PROHIBITED. To the extent | ||
| permitted by federal law, including the Children's Online Privacy | ||
| Protection Act (15 U.S.C. Section 6501 et seq.), a child may not use | ||
| a social media platform. | ||
| Sec. 120.113. ACCOUNT AND VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) | ||
| A social media platform shall: | ||
| (1) prohibit a child from entering into a contract | ||
| with the social media platform to become an account holder; and | ||
| (2) verify that a person seeking to become an account | ||
| holder is 18 years of age or older before accepting the person as an | ||
| account holder. | ||
| (b) A social media platform must use a commercially | ||
| reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional | ||
| data to verify the age of an individual as required under Subsection | ||
| (a). | ||
| (c) Personal information obtained under Subsection (b) may | ||
| only be used for age verification purposes and may not be retained, | ||
| used, transmitted, or otherwise conveyed, regardless of whether | ||
| consideration is given for the information. The social media | ||
| company must delete personal information immediately upon | ||
| completion of the age verification process. | ||
| Sec. 120.114. REQUIRED REMOVAL OF ACCOUNT. (a) Not later | ||
| than the 10th day after receiving a request from a parent or | ||
| guardian verified by a social media company under Section 509.101, | ||
| the company shall delete the account of the parent's or guardian's | ||
| child and cease the further use or maintenance in retrievable form, | ||
| or future online collection, of personal information collected from | ||
| the child's account, on all of its platforms. | ||
| (b) A social media company must provide a reasonable, | ||
| accessible, and verifiable means by which a parent or guardian may | ||
| make a request under Subsection (a). | ||
| Sec. 120.115. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A social media company | ||
| violates this subchapter if the company knowingly: | ||
| (1) fails to verify a person's age before accepting the | ||
| person as an account holder; | ||
| (2) allows a child to use its platform; | ||
| (3) misuses personal information in violation of | ||
| Section 120.113(c); or | ||
| (4) fails to remove an account as required by Section | ||
| 120.114. | ||
| (b) A violation of this subchapter by a social media | ||
| platform is considered a deceptive trade practice under Chapter 17 | ||
| and subject to action by the consumer protection division of the | ||
| attorney general's office under Sections 17.47, 17.58, 17.60, and | ||
| 17.61. | ||
| SECTION 3. Subchapter C-1, Chapter 120, Business & Commerce | ||
| Code, as added by this Act, applies only to access to a social media | ||
| platform on or after January 1, 2026. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
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