Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3862 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2541 JDK-D
2	2	By: Hunter H.B. No. 3862
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to prohibiting use of social media platforms by children.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 120.002(b), Business & Commerce Code, is
12	12	amended to read as follows:
13	13	(b) Subchapters B and C apply [This chapter applies] only to
14	14	a social media platform that functionally has more than 50 million
15	15	active users in the United States in a calendar month.
16	16	SECTION 2. Chapter 120, Business & Commerce Code, is
17	17	amended by adding Subchapter C-1 to read as follows:
18	18	SUBCHAPTER C-1. USER AGE LIMITATION
19	19	Sec. 120.111. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
20	20	(1) "Account holder" means a resident of this state
21	21	who opens an account or creates a profile or is identified by the
22	22	social media platform by a unique identifier while using or
23	23	accessing a social media platform.
24	24	(2) "Child" means an individual who is younger than 18
25	25	years of age.
26	26	Sec. 120.112. USE BY CHILDREN PROHIBITED. A child may not
27	27	use a social media platform.
28	28	Sec. 120.113. ACCOUNT AND VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a)
29	29	A social media platform shall:
30	30	(1) prohibit a child from entering into a contract
31	31	with the social media platform to become an account holder; and
32	32	(2) verify that a person seeking to become an account
33	33	holder is 18 years of age or older before accepting the person as an
34	34	account holder.
35	35	(b) A social media platform must verify the age of an
36	36	individual as required under Subsection (a) using a system that
37	37	relies on government-issued identification.
38	38	(c) Personal information obtained under Subsection (b) may
39	39	only be used for age verification purposes and may not be retained,
40	40	used, transmitted, or otherwise conveyed, regardless of whether
41	41	consideration is given for the information. The social media
42	42	company must delete personal information immediately upon
43	43	completion of the age verification process.
44	44	Sec. 120.114. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A social media company
45	45	violates this subchapter if the company knowingly:
46	46	(1) fails to verify a person's age before accepting the
47	47	person as an account holder;
48	48	(2) allows a child to use its platform; or
49	49	(3) misuses personal information in violation of
50	50	Section 120.113(c).
51	51	(b) A violation of this subchapter by a social media
52	52	platform is considered a deceptive trade practice under Subchapter
53	53	E, Chapter 17.
54	54	SECTION 3. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is
55	55	amended by adding Chapter 121 to read as follows:
56	56	CHAPTER 121. ELECTRONIC DEVICE MARKERS AND FILTERS
57	57	Sec. 121.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
58	58	(1) "Electronic device" means a device with a screen
59	59	that is capable of connecting to a cellular network or the Internet.
60	60	(2) "Explicit material" means visual material
61	61	depicting:
62	62	(A) the intimate parts of a person, as defined by
63	63	Section 21.16, Penal Code;
64	64	(B) sexual conduct, as defined by Section 21.16,
65	65	Penal Code; or
66	66	(C) simulated sexual conduct, as defined by
67	67	Section 21.16, Penal Code.
68	68	(3) "Filter" means software installed on an electronic
69	69	device that is capable of preventing the device from accessing or
70	70	displaying explicit material.
71	71	(4) "Marker" means software installed on an electronic
72	72	device that is capable of alerting websites and applications of the
73	73	owner or user's age.
74	74	(5) "Minor" means a person younger than 18 years of
75	75	age.
76	76	Sec. 121.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not apply
77	77	to:
78	78	(1) a telecommunications provider who activates an
79	79	electronic device on behalf of a user; or
80	80	(2) a retailer who sells an electronic device to a
81	81	user.
82	82	Sec. 121.003. ELECTRONIC DEVICE MARKER REQUIRED. (a) To
83	83	the extent possible, a manufacturer of electronic devices shall
84	84	enable on each electronic device in this state or device associated
85	85	with a user account in this state a process that allows the owner or
86	86	user to activate an electronic device marker.
87	87	(b) A marker described by Subsection (a), when enabled, must
88	88	notify a website or application accessed by the device that the
89	89	device is being used by a minor.
90	90	Sec. 121.004. ELECTRONIC DEVICE FILTER REQUIRED. (a) A
91	91	manufacturer of electronic devices shall automatically enable a
92	92	filter on an electronic device that is activated in this state.
93	93	(b) A filter described by Subsection (a), when enabled,
94	94	must:
95	95	(1) prevent a minor user from publicly sharing the
96	96	minor's location;
97	97	(2) prevent a minor user from accessing, downloading,
98	98	or displaying explicit material through use of:
99	99	(A) a mobile data network;
100	100	(B) an Internet network, including Wi-Fi; or
101	101	(C) a software application owned and controlled
102	102	by the manufacturer of the electronic device;
103	103	(3) notify the user of the electronic device when the
104	104	filter prevents the device from accessing or displaying explicit
105	105	material;
106	106	(4) allow the user of the electronic device or a minor
107	107	user's parent or guardian to circumvent the filter by entering a
108	108	password or access code; and
109	109	(5) reasonably prevent a user of the electronic device
110	110	from circumventing, modifying, removing, or uninstalling the
111	111	filter without entering a password or access code.
112	112	SECTION 4. Section 32.104, Education Code, is amended to
113	113	read as follows:
114	114	Sec. 32.104. REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSFER. Before
115	115	transferring data processing equipment or an electronic device to a
116	116	student, a school district or open-enrollment charter school must:
117	117	(1) adopt rules governing transfers under this
118	118	subchapter, including provisions for technical assistance to the
119	119	student by the district or school;
120	120	(2) determine that the transfer serves a public
121	121	purpose and benefits the district or school;
122	122	(3) remove from the equipment any offensive,
123	123	confidential, or proprietary information, as determined by the
124	124	district or school;
125	125	(4) adopt rules establishing programs promoting
126	126	parents as partners in cybersecurity and online safety that involve
127	127	parents in students' use of transferred equipment or electronic
128	128	devices; and
129	129	(5) for the transfer of an electronic device to be used
130	130	for an educational purpose, install an Internet filter that blocks
131	131	and prohibits:
132	132	(A) pornographic or obscene materials or
133	133	applications, including from unsolicited pop-ups, installations,
134	134	and downloads; and
135	135	(B) social media platforms, as defined by Section
136	136	120.001, Business & Commerce Code.
137	137	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
138	138	amended by adding Sections 38.0232 and 38.0233 to read as follows:
139	139	Sec. 38.0232. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INTERNET CONTENT
140	140	PROHIBITED. A school district or open-enrollment charter school
141	141	shall adopt rules and procedures to block and prohibit access to
142	142	certain content via the school's Internet network. The rules and
143	143	procedures adopted must prohibit student access to:
144	144	(1) social media websites or applications;
145	145	(2) pornographic or obscene materials; and
146	146	(3) content considered harmful to minors by the school
147	147	district or open-enrollment charter school.
148	148	Sec. 38.0233. PROHIBITED USE OF SMART DEVICES DURING
149	149	INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. (a) In this section, "smart device" means a
150	150	cell phone or wearable device that:
151	151	(1) is capable of connecting to a cellular network or
152	152	the Internet; or
153	153	(2) is capable of serving as a camera.
154	154	(b) Notwithstanding Section 38.0231, the board of trustees
155	155	of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment
156	156	charter school shall adopt a policy prohibiting a student in the
157	157	district or school from using a smart device during instructional
158	158	time.
159	159	SECTION 6. Subchapter C-1, Chapter 120, Business & Commerce
160	160	Code, as added by this Act, applies only to access to a social media
161	161	platform on or after January 1, 2026.
162	162	SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2026, each
163	163	manufacturer of electronic devices, to the extent possible, shall
164	164	implement a software update to automatically enable an electronic
165	165	device marker and an electronic device filter on an electronic
166	166	device in this state or a device associated with a user account for
167	167	a user in this state, as required by Chapter 121, Business &
168	168	Commerce Code, as added by this Act.
169	169	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.