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Committee hears hours of debate on HB 4388 requiring age verification for minors; tech and civil‑liberties groups oppose
Summary
Representative Tisdell proposed HB 4388, requiring third‑party age verification and parental login control for minors accessing social media and online contracts; industry and civil‑liberties witnesses warned the law could violate the First Amendment and create privacy risks.
Representative Tisdell introduced House Bill 4388 by arguing a simple premise: "Minors can't consent." He told the committee HB 4388 would require third‑party age verification for minors entering online contracts and would give parents login access and control to prevent early exposure to social media and the harms Tisdell associated with early smartphone use.
"Minors can't consent," Tisdell told the committee, describing research linking earlier smartphone adoption to worsening adolescent mental‑health indicators and framing the bill as a parental‑empowerment tool rather than a free‑speech restriction.
Industry and civil‑liberties witnesses testified in respectful opposition. Megan Stokes, state policy director for the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said similar age‑verification laws have been struck down by courts and warned that requiring verifiable age checks could collect sensitive data (IDs, biometrics) and pose privacy and security risks. "These mandates could deter users, threaten small business viability, and ironically expose individuals to greater privacy harms," she said.
Caden Rosenbaum of the Reason Foundation echoed concerns about First Amendment burdens, privacy invasions and litigation costs; he said the Utah model that inspired similar bills was later scrapped and that Michigan could face costly litigation if it followed the same path.
Amy Boss of NetChoice also urged the committee to reject HB 4388, citing recent federal court decisions that enjoined comparable laws and arguing that forcing platforms to collect verified identities would create a honeypot of personal data vulnerable to breaches.
Committee members debated the balance between parental authority and constitutional protections. Representative Thompson repeatedly returned to the premise that minors cannot consent and emphasized the parental‑rights angle; other members pressed witnesses on case law and the narrowness required to survive strict First Amendment scrutiny.
No final committee vote was taken on HB 4388 during the hearing; the committee recorded extensive testimony and read several position cards into the record before adjourning.
