89R13746 BCH-D
By: Bhojani H.B. No. 4456
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring social media platforms to verify the age of
account holders on the platform.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 120, Business & Commerce Code, is
amended by adding Subchapter C-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C-1. USER AGE VERIFICATION
Sec. 120.111. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Account holder" means a resident of this state
who opens an account or creates a profile or is identified by the
social media platform by a unique identifier while using or
accessing a social media platform.
(2) "Child" means an individual who is younger than 18
years of age.
Sec. 120.112. ACCOUNT AND VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a)
A social media platform shall verify the age of a person seeking to
become an account holder before accepting the person as an account
holder.
(b) A social media platform must use a commercially
reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional
data to verify the age of an individual as required under Subsection
(a).
(c) Personal information obtained under Subsection (b) may
only be used for age verification purposes and may not be retained,
used, transmitted, or otherwise conveyed, regardless of whether
consideration is given for the information. The social media
platform must delete personal information immediately upon
completion of the age verification process.
Sec. 120.113. REQUESTED REMOVAL OF ACCOUNT. (a) Not later
than the 10th day after receiving a request from a parent or
guardian verified by a social media platform under Section 509.101,
the platform shall delete the account of the parent's or guardian's
child and cease the further use or maintenance in retrievable form,
or future online collection, of personal information collected from
the child's account, on all of its platforms.
(b) A social media platform must provide a reasonable,
accessible, and verifiable means by which a parent or guardian may
make a request under Subsection (a).
Sec. 120.114. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A social media platform
violates this subchapter if the platform knowingly:
(1) fails to verify a person's age before accepting the
person as an account holder;
(2) misuses personal information in violation of
Section 120.112(c); or
(3) fails to remove an account as required by Section
120.113.
(b) A violation of this subchapter by a social media
platform is considered a deceptive trade practice under Chapter 17
and subject to action by the consumer protection division of the
attorney general's office under Sections 17.47, 17.58, 17.60, and
17.61.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C-1, Chapter 120, Business & Commerce
Code, as added by this Act, applies only to access to a social media
platform on or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.