Texas Bill Would Have Banned Social Media for Minors: Here's How

Texas was poised to pass into law one of the most restrictive sets of social media rules for minors, including making it illegal for those under 18 to be on social media, but it failed on a technicality when the legislature ended its session ahead of a key vote. House Bill 186 would have prohibited minors from creating new social media accounts on services like TikTok, Instagram and X, The legislation also would have required age verification for everyone else creating a new account. Under the legislation, parents could ask for a minor's social media account to be deleted, and the platform would be required to remove it within 10 days or face fines and lawsuits. Lawmakers who supported the bill said it would counter the mental health harm that social media poses to teens. The bill had passed the Texas House of Representatives but still needed to pass the Texas Senate and get a signature from Governor Greg Abbott. A similar law passed in Utah last year but was blocked months later by ... Read full article.