TikTok, Instagram Users In MN Will See New Warning Every Time They Open App

ST. PAUL, MN — A wave of new Minnesota laws takes effect July 1, 2026, touching everything from your social media feed to how schools handle safety threats to how the state compensates people who were wrongfully imprisoned.

Here is a look at some of the most notable changes.

SOCIAL MEDIA MENTAL HEALTH WARNING

Starting July 1, social media platforms operating in Minnesota must display a mental health warning every time a user opens the app or website. The warning cannot be disabled, and platforms are barred from burying it in their terms and conditions. Users must either exit the platform or acknowledge the potential for harm before proceeding.

The warning must include information about the mental health impacts of social media use and provide resources, including the national suicide hotline number and website.

The provision was included in a health and human services policy law passed during the 2025 special session. It was sponsored by Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley) and Sen. Melissa Wiklund (DFL-Bloomington).

SCHOOL THREAT REPORTING REQUIRED

School boards across Minnesota must adopt a policy implementing an anonymous threat reporting system by June 30, 2027, and have a functioning system in place by July 1, 2028.

The systems must include a 24-hour anonymous tip line accessible via mobile app, website, or toll-free phone number. Tips can cover dangerous, violent, or threatening activity on school property or involving enrolled students or staff.

Districts that do not build their own system must direct students, families, and staff to the Department of Public Safety's statewide system. The state is making $4 million available in fiscal year 2027 for grants to help schools develop or purchase systems.

The law was sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) and Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (DFL-Eden Prairie).

$4.5M FOR MAN WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED FOR 19 YEARS

The state will pay Marvin Haynes $4.5 million after he spent 19 and a half years in prison on a murder conviction that was overturned. The conviction was based on false evidence and involved due process violations, according to the state.

Haynes sought relief under the Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act, which provides a compensation process for people exonerated of felonies for which they were wrongfully incarcerated.

Two other men will also receive exoneration payments: Clayton Groves will get $350,000 after spending nearly 52 months in prison before his sexual misconduct conviction was vacated by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and James Davis will receive $250,000 after spending almost three years in prison on a conviction vacated due to ineffective assistance of counsel.

The law was sponsored by Rep. Luke Frederick (DFL-Mankato) and Sen. Doron Clark (DFL-Minneapolis).

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS CAN REMOVE ABUSERS FROM PROPERTY CONTRACTS

Unmarried victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or harassment who share real property under a contract for deed will now be able to petition a court to terminate the abuser's interest in that property, as long as the abuser no longer lives there and the survivor has been making payments.

The law was sponsored by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) and Sen. Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights).

OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES

Among other laws taking effect July 1:

• Schools and police: Law enforcement agencies must now notify the appropriate licensing board when a teacher is criminally charged with an offense that triggers automatic license denial or revocation, or with any offense requiring the person to register as a predatory offender. The provision is part of a larger law that makes grooming of a minor a felony, effective Aug. 1.
• Human services technology: A new state fund will modernize the IT systems used by counties and tribal nations to administer human services programs, some of which have not been updated in decades. The law seeds the fund with a $50 million transfer and includes more than $75 million in additional appropriations.
• South St. Paul remediation: A cash bonding law includes $2.25 million for environmental remediation and geotechnical soil corrections at a public works facility in South St. Paul.
• Outdoor Heritage Fund: More than $191 million from the Outdoor Heritage Fund will be distributed to protect and restore wetlands, prairies, forests, and wildlife habitat statewide, including $13.8 million for a metro-area conservation partners grant program.

Summaries of all laws passed by the 2026 Legislature are available online here.