Minnesota Kids Could Be Locked Out Of Social Media Without Parent OK

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota children could need parental consent to use major social media platforms under a bill moving through the Legislature.

The House passed HF 4138 on Tuesday in a 132-2 vote. The Senate passed an amended version Friday in a 66-0 vote, meaning the final version would still need to be worked out before it could go to the governor.

The bill would create new rules for social media accounts used by Minnesota children 15 and younger.

Under the proposal, covered platforms could not create or maintain a child’s account without verifiable parental consent.

The bill would also require children’s accounts to be set to the most private settings by default. Platforms would have to give parents tools to monitor and limit their children’s use of the platform.

Those tools would include:

• Daily and weekly time limits
• The ability to block access during certain times of day
• Options to monitor how much time a child spends on the platform
• A way to request that a child’s account be terminated

Platforms would also be barred from showing targeted paid ads to children or using "addictive interface" features in a child’s feed.

The bill defines a child as a Minnesota resident who is 15 years old or younger. A minor is defined as anyone younger than 18.

The measure would require platforms to ask new account applicants for the month and year of their birthdate. Platforms would also have to estimate a user’s age after certain usage thresholds.

If a platform cannot conclude that a user is at least 16, the platform would have to treat that user as a child under the bill.

The proposal would not apply to every website or app. It includes exceptions for services such as email, direct messaging-only platforms, streaming services, online games, e-commerce sites and websites where user-generated content is not the main feature.

Parents and children would be allowed to sue over violations. For reckless or knowing violations, damages would be actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater.

The bill also includes a public safety provision requiring social media platforms to report suspected Minnesota-related threats of mass violence to the Minnesota Fusion Center.

The Minnesota Fusion Center is a state information-sharing office focused on crime, terrorism and other public safety threats.

Platforms would generally have to report suspected threats within 24 hours. If a threat appears imminent, the report would have to be made immediately.

Violations of that section could carry civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation.

The main provisions of the bill would take effect July 1, 2027, and would apply to accounts created before, on or after that date.

Read the full bill here.