Cybersecurity Policy Report, Minnesota Governor Signs Bill to Protect Youth on Social Media, (May 27, 2026)

By Carrie DeLeon

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (R.) has signed into law a bill to impose requirements on large social media platforms aimed at protecting children. The new law, among other things, will require social media platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing children under 16 to create or maintain accounts. The new law takes effect July 1, 2027.

“As a teacher and a dad, I’ve seen firsthand how new and emerging technology can impact our children,” Gov. Walz said in a statement. “As social media becomes more advanced, we need to make sure our families don’t fall victim to the powerful companies that use kids as a testing ground to make algorithms more addictive. Privacy and safety have to come first. This bill puts families back in the driver’s seat and makes sure technology works for our kids, not the other way around.”

HF 4138, or the Stop Harms of Addictive Social Media Act, will require large social media platforms to estimate the age of users based on their activity, using reasonable means and efforts, and treat users as children unless they can determine with high confidence that the user is older than 16. For children under age 16, platforms will have to obtain verifiable parental consent before creating or maintaining accounts.

“This bill does not ban users from having social media, instead it requires a parent or guardian to approve of social media contractual agreements,” according to bill sponsor Rep. Peggy Scott (R.).

Also under the new law, privacy settings for young users will be automatically set to the highest level, which would restrict, among other things, content sharing only between a child’s direct friends. The law will also give parents the option to monitor and limit their child’s usage, including setting time limits and restricting access times.

NetChoice LLC recently warned that the law would not survive legal challenges. “This bill is riddled with serious constitutional defects that courts have already identified and struck down in materially identical laws enacted by other states,” NetChoice told the governor in a letter requesting a veto.

“Minnesota deserves a child safety strategy that will actually withstand legal scrutiny and deliver real results for families. HF 4138/SF 4696 is not that strategy. It is constitutionally defective legislation that will be enjoined by federal courts before it can take effect—at significant cost to Minnesota taxpayers—while doing nothing to protect the children it claims to serve. We urge you to veto this bill and uphold the constitutional rights to free expression and access to protected online speech for every Minnesotan, while simultaneously saving the taxpayer and state legal authorities valuable money and time,” NetChoice said.

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