Bills that Restrict Minor Access to Social Media (SB 199 & Others)

While some of these bills failed, similar language may reappear later this session as an amendment or be reintroduced in a future session.

SB 199: Various education matters, authored by Sen. Jeff Raatz, Sen. Linda Rogers.
Status: Passed Senate

HB 1178: Minor access to social media, authored by Rep. King, Behning, and Rep. Jake Teshka
Status: Failed

SB 129: Age verification for access to social media, authored by Sen. Mike Bohacek, Sen. Liz Brown
Status: Failed

SB 199, which is now the primary social media control bill moving, requires social media providers to determine the age and Indiana residency of any individual seeking to create an account. The bill also creates a 10-year, ongoing “age estimation” system tied to usage thresholds, additional activity, and any collection of demographic information.

The bill applies to platforms with at least $1 billion in global revenue that use algorithmic content feeds, include “addictive features” like infinite scroll and autoplay, and have significant teen usage. These platforms must use “commercially reasonable methods” to determine whether a user is an Indiana resident and under 16 and must obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing adolescents to create accounts. The bill also requires ongoing age verification based on usage thresholds and mandates account termination if a minor cannot provide parental consent.

This would force Hoosiers to repeatedly verify their age and location through commercial methods that rely on transactional data, database checks, or third-party systems, requiring adults to surrender personal information and their anonymity to access lawful free speech online.

Accounts for users under 17 must automatically include locked safety settings, including limits on direct messages and search visibility, and bans on algorithmic recommendations and behavior-based ads. Violations of these checks are treated as deceptive acts under Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and are enforceable by the attorney general.

We all want kids to be safe online, but we oppose SB 199 because it responds with an overbroad system that conditions access to lawful speech on recurring age and residency verification, pushing Hoosiers to hand over personal information and lose anonymity just to participate online. Its vague standards and enforcement penalties will drive platforms to over collect data, block lawful users who don’t have methods to prove their age, and chill protected speech for adults and minors alike. Indiana can protect kids through alternative safety measures and targeted enforcement against harmful conduct without a one-size-fits-all approach.