Restricting Minor Access to Social Media (HEA 1408 & Others)

• HEA 1408: Education Matters, authored by Rep. Behning, Davis, Cash, and King | Status: Signed by Governor
• SEA 199: Various Education Matters, authored by Sen. Jeff Raatz, Sen. Linda Rogers | Status: Language Removed, Signed by Governor
• 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

Language from SB 199 was stripped and added to HEA 1408 at the last minute in conference committee. HEA 1408 now requires covered social media providers to determine the age and Indiana residency of people seeking to create accounts and sets up an ongoing age-estimation system that can trigger repeated checks based on usage thresholds and the collection of demographic information.

The bill applies to platforms with at least $1 billion in global revenue that use algorithmic content feeds, include features such as infinite scroll or autoplay, and have significant teen usage. Covered platforms must use commercially reasonable means to determine whether a person requesting an account is an Indiana resident and under 16 and must obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing an adolescent to create an account. The law also requires follow-up age determinations after certain usage thresholds and whenever demographic information is collected, until an account has been held continuously for 10 years. If a platform later determines that an Indiana account holder is under 16 and did not receive parental consent, it must notify the user and then terminate the account unless the user timely disputes that determination through parental consent or a commercial age-estimation process. In practice, this pushes Hoosiers to repeatedly verify their age and location through commercial methods that may rely on transactional data, database checks, or third-party systems, requiring adults to surrender personal information and anonymity to access lawful speech online.

Accounts for users under 16 must automatically include locked safety settings, including restrictions on direct messages, search visibility, algorithmic recommendations, behavior-based advertising, and addictive features. Violations are treated as deceptive acts and are enforceable by the attorney general under Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.

We all want kids to be safe online, but we oppose HEA 1408’s approach because it conditions access to lawful speech on repeated 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 incentivize platforms to over-collect data, over-block users who cannot prove their age, and chill protected speech for adults and minors alike. Indiana can protect kids through stronger privacy protections, product design reforms, and targeted enforcement against harmful conduct without imposing a one-size-fits-all surveillance system for online speech.