Texas is pushing a bill to ban people under 18 from joining social media platforms

Texas hopes to follow Florida's lead and ban minors from registering social media accounts, but they go further: Florida bans those under 14 from registering social media accounts, while Texas' proposal would raise the minimum registration age to 18.

House Bill 186, introduced in November, is currently advancing to become law in Texas. The bill has received bipartisan support in the Texas House and appears to have significant support from members of the Senate, paving the way for Gov. Greg Abbott to sign it into law.

The bill would prohibit individuals under the age of 18 from registering social media accounts. Additionally, parental consent is required to download the app and warning labels about the dangers of social media are placed on the website. Any website that allows users to create and share content would be considered a social media platform, so YouTube seems to fall into this category as well. The bill does not apply to email, news or gambling websites.

Rep. Jared Patterson, the bill's author, said the bill would help address "the most harmful products our children can legally be exposed to in Texas."

The bill, which requires warning labels on social media sites, echoes a call last year by then-Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who asked social media platforms to carry health warning labels similar to those for cigarettes and alcohol.

While 10 states in the U.S. have different age limits and verification laws for minors using social media, Florida is currently the only state to completely ban minors from signing up for social media, despite the age limit of 14. In 2024, Australia will ban those under 16 from using social media platforms, even with parental permission.

While the bill currently targets people under 18, Patterson said the Senate could change the age limit.

Age verification and restriction laws are often resisted as violating First Amendment rights. Some of these laws have been blocked by courts, including in Arkansas, Ohio and California.

There are also concerns about the privacy implications of the bills, as they provide no guidance on how platforms can delete information collected for verification purposes.