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Issue explainer

Social Media and Kids Online: Age Verification and Parental Consent

Texas has passed some of the country's strongest laws on kids and the internet, including age checks for adult websites and app stores. Courts have upheld some parts and blocked others. Voters disagree about how far government should go in verifying ages and limiting what minors can do online.

The basics

On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton that Texas's House Bill 1181, a 2023 law requiring websites with sexually explicit material harmful to minors to verify visitors are 18 or older, is constitutional1. The Court applied a middle level of review, called intermediate scrutiny, because it found the law only incidentally burdens adults' protected speech1. The dissent argued the law should face the strictest level of review1.

At the federal level, the TAKE IT DOWN Act became law on May 19, 20252. It makes it a crime to publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI-made fakes, and gave platforms until May 19, 2026, to set up a way to remove such images within 48 hours of a valid request2.

On July 30, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act, packaged with updates to children's privacy law, 91 to 3, but it did not become law310. On June 29, 2026, the House passed a broader package, the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, 267 to 11738. It would extend children's online privacy protections to teens up to 17, ban targeted ads aimed at minors, and address app store age checks, but it leaves out the "duty of care" requirement found in the Senate bill3. States could still pass stronger laws under the House version38. As of September 2026 the Senate had not voted on the House package; on August 5, 2026, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced its own version of the Kids Online Safety Act9.

Key terms

Age verification
Requiring a website, app, or app store to confirm a user's age, for example with an ID or other method, before allowing access14.
Parental consent
A rule that a parent must approve before a minor can download an app, make a purchase, or open an account4.
Duty of care
A proposed legal duty for platforms to design products to reduce harms to minors, such as compulsive use; it is in the Senate's Kids Online Safety Act but not the House package3.
Intermediate scrutiny
A middle level of court review that the Supreme Court applied to Texas's adult-website age verification law in 20251.
Section 230
A federal law that generally shields online platforms from liability for content posted by users; a federal appeals court relied on it in 2026 to block part of Texas's SCOPE Act5.

In Texas

The SCOPE Act, House Bill 18, took effect September 1, 20246. It requires digital services to register users' ages, give verified parents supervision tools, bar targeted ads to known minors, and adopt strategies to block minors' exposure to content promoting self-harm, substance abuse, bullying, or sexual exploitation6. In July 2026, a federal appeals court kept a block on that content filtering requirement, ruling that Section 230 overrides it, while the Texas Attorney General says the ruling lets the age registration requirement be enforced5. In a separate case, the Texas Attorney General reached an agreed order requiring Discord to add age checks5.

Senate Bill 2420, the App Store Accountability Act, was signed May 27, 2025, and set to take effect January 1, 2026711. It requires app stores to verify users' ages and get a parent's consent before minors download apps or make in-app purchases4. A federal judge blocked it in December 2025 as a likely First Amendment violation, but in June 2026 the Fifth Circuit paused that ruling, and on July 6, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate the block, so the law can be enforced while the appeal continues4. No Fifth Circuit ruling on the merits was found as of September 2026.

A 2025 bill, House Bill 186, would have barred anyone under 18 from opening social media accounts. It passed the Texas House but died without a Senate vote7.

How people see it

The strongest case for each view, in terms its supporters would recognize. We don't pick a side.

Parents, not government

Supporters say parents already have filters and controls and should decide what their kids see. They argue age checks force adults to hand over IDs, create privacy risks, and restrict lawful speech, as challengers have argued in court.

Age checks for adult content only

Supporters back verification for pornography sites, which the Supreme Court upheld in 2025, but oppose broader limits on apps and social media. They say general platforms carry a lot of valuable speech for teens, and blanket rules sweep too widely.

App store age checks and parental consent

Supporters back laws like Texas's App Store Accountability Act, arguing that verifying age once at the app store is simpler than at every app and puts parents in charge. Texas argues this regulates commercial transactions, like other age limits on purchases.

Safe design rules and duty of care

Supporters want platforms to set minors' accounts to the safest settings by default, limit data collection and ads, and take responsibility for harmful design features like endless scroll. They argue the harm to young people is built into how products are designed.

Ban social media for minors

Supporters want to bar kids under 16 or 18 from social media accounts, as House Bill 186 proposed. They argue these products harm teen mental health, and partial fixes have not worked.

Who decides

  • U.S. Congress: Writes national online privacy and safety laws for minors and can decide whether states may go further.
  • Texas Legislature and Governor: Passed the SCOPE Act, HB 1181, and the App Store Accountability Act, and can add or change rules.
  • Texas Attorney General: Enforces Texas's online child safety laws and sues or settles with platforms.
  • Federal courts: Decide whether these laws violate the First Amendment or conflict with federal law.
  • School boards: Set phone and internet rules for students during the school day.

Questions to ask a candidate

  • Should app stores and social media sites be required to verify every user's age?
  • How should age checks protect adults' privacy and free speech?
  • Should platforms have a legal duty to design products that are safer for kids?
  • Should Texas bar minors from having social media accounts?

Last reviewed 2026-09-26. Spotted something wrong? Every claim links to its source so you can check it yourself.

Sources

  1. Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton (No. 23-1122)Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
  2. President Trump Signs TAKE IT DOWN Act Into LawLatham & Watkins
  3. House passes Kids Internet and Digital Safety ActK-12 Dive
  4. Supreme Court allows Texas to enforce law requiring age verification and parental consent on appsSCOTUSblog
  5. Paxton, NetChoice both declare victory in court decisions on Texas SCOPE ActBiometric Update
  6. H.B. 18 (88th Legislature), Enrolled Version (SCOPE Act)Texas Legislature Online
  7. Texas bill to ban minors from social media likely dead after missed deadlineKERA News
  8. Kids bill faces uncertainty after House passageRoll Call
  9. Commerce Committee Advances Kids Online Safety LegislationU.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  10. Roll Call Vote 118th Congress, 2nd Session, Vote 221 (S. 2073)U.S. Senate
  11. History for SB 2420 (89th Legislature)Texas Legislature Online