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Rep. Mike Noricki proposes short-form bill to establish age gates for social media
Summary
State Rep. Mike Noricki told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee he filed a short-form bill to require age-gating mechanisms for social media platforms, modeled on state sports-gambling age-verification rules, to reduce harms to adolescents.
State Representative Mike Noricki presented a short-form bill to the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on April 1 proposing that social media platforms implement age gates similar to those used for sports gambling.
Noricki described the proposal as a short-form bill — intentionally brief so staff can flesh out details if the committee chooses to pursue it — and cited a growing body of research on social media harms to adolescents, including work by Pew Research Center and the book The Anxious Generation by NYU’s Jonathan Haidt. He said Vermont K–8 schools that ban cell phones report students adapted without major problems and framed age gates as a protective measure for youth under age 16.
The proposal would require platforms to implement identity or age-verification steps (for example, requiring a form of ID when a child lacks a driver’s license), Noricki said. He acknowledged the presentation lacked specific drafting detail and invited committee staff and members to develop the mechanics, including consent workflows and how identity would be verified.
Members asked questions about consent mechanisms and practical implementation; Noricki reiterated the short-form intent and asked that staff and stakeholders help develop specifics. No committee action or vote was taken.
