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Committee advances bill requiring parental consent and design changes for kids on big social platforms
Summary
House File 4138 was advanced to Ways and Means after members adopted the author's DE3. The bill would require platforms with ~>$1B in ad revenue to use age‑estimation technology, obtain verifiable parental consent for users estimated 15 or younger, and restrict targeted ads and "addictive" design features for youth accounts.
Representative Scott presented House File 4138 as a design‑focused bill to protect minors on large social media platforms. The measure targets platforms that meet a revenue threshold and would require platforms that estimate an account holder is 15 or younger to obtain verifiable parental consent before permitting a standard account. If parental consent is granted, youth accounts would receive a distinct user experience: no targeted commercial advertising, limits on addictive design features (examples cited include infinite scroll and autoplay), and reduced public metrics that can drive engagement.
Supporters included the Minnesota Catholic Conference and several student witnesses who described personal harms from endless scrolling and targeted advertising. Maggie Haney of the Minnesota Catholic Conference told the committee the bill seeks design changes rather than content restrictions and urged lawmakers to vote yes. Student testifiers described social media’s effects on attention, social interaction and school participation.
Witnesses and members also raised equity and privacy concerns. Tak Cierra Hindi of the National Action Network warned that some age‑estimation or verification approaches can rely on IDs or biometrics, which could disproportionately harm Black, Brown and low‑income communities, increase surveillance risks, or create access barriers for families without standard verification tools. Representative Scott and testifiers said the bill is focused on age estimation already performed by platforms and does not require children to upload photos or IDs for age estimation; the bill includes limits such as destruction of any ID data used for verification.
After questions on enforcement (the bill authorizes state attorney general enforcement) and the revenue threshold (witnesses named major platforms likely covered), the committee adopted the DE3 amendment and voted to refer HF 4138 to Ways and Means.
