US Senator Proposes Parental Consent for Social Media Under-16s

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) will introduce legislation on Tuesday that would require social media platforms to obtain parental consent before allowing children under the age of 16 to create or maintain accounts. The proposed measure establishes a federal baseline for youth access to digital services, responding to ongoing concerns regarding minors’ online safety, data collection practices, and exposure to unregulated content.

The bill would mark the most significant federal mandate to date for social media companies operating in the United States, effectively raising the minimum age for independent account creation by at least three years for platforms that currently permit registration at age 13. Under the proposal, companies would be required to implement verification processes to confirm parental authorization and maintain compliance records, with potential enforcement mechanisms