Utah Legislature Passes Bills Restricting Social Media Accounts for Minors

On
March
1-3,
2023,
the
Utah
legislature
passed
a
series
of
bills,
SB
152
and
HB
311,
regarding
social
media
usage
for
minors.
For
social
media
companies
with
more
than
five
million
users
worldwide,
SB
152
would
require
parental
permission
for
social
media
accounts
for
users
under
age
18,
while
HB
311
would
hold
social
media
companies
liable
for
harm
minors
experience
on
the
platforms.
Both
bills
have
been
sent
to
the
governor’s
desk
for
signature.

• 
  SB
  152:
  Beginning
  in
  March
  2024,
  SB
  152
  would
  require
  social
  media
  companies
  to
  verify
  the
  age
  of
  a
  Utah
  resident
  seeking
  to
  maintain
  or
  open
  an
  account,
  and
  would
  require
  the
  consent
  of
  a
  parent
  or
  guardian
  before
  a
  minor
  under
  age
  18
  could
  maintain
  or
  open
  an
  account.
  Users
  who
  refuse
  to
  verify
  their
  age
  would
  risk
  losing
  an
  existing
  account,
  even
  if
  over
  age
  18.
  For
  accounts
  registered
  to
  minors,
  the
  bill
  would
  require
  the
  relevant
  social
  media
  company
  to
  provide
  the
  minor’s
  parent
  or
  guardian
  access
  to
  the
  content
  and
  interactions
  of
  the
  account.
  The
  bill
  also
  would
  ban
  social
  media
  companies
  from
  serving
  ads
  to
  minors,
  and
  from
  collecting,
  sharing
  or
  using
  personal
  information
  from
  minors’
  accounts.
   

• 
  HB
  311:
  Also
  effective
  March
  2024,
  HB
  311
  would
  prohibit
  social
  media
  companies
  from
  designing
  their
  platforms
  in
  a
  way
  that
  “causes
  a
  minor
  to
  have
  an
  addiction
  to
  the
  company’s
  social
  media
  platform.”
  In
  addition
  to
  enforcement
  by
  the
  Utah
  Division
  of
  Consumer
  Protection,
  the
  bill
  also
  creates
  a
  private
  right
  of
  action
  to
  collect
  damages
  for
  harm
  incurred
  by
  a
  minor’s
  use
  of
  a
  social
  media
  platform.

Utah
Governor
Spencer
Cox
has
not
yet
signed
the
bills.

Read

SB
152
and

HB
311.

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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