Congress bans under-16s from major social media—but how will platforms verify age?

What it does

This bill prohibits social media platforms from allowing anyone under 16 to create or maintain an account. Platforms must identify and terminate existing accounts of minors within 180 days, delete their personal data, and allow a 90-day window for users to download their data before deletion. Platforms must implement an appeal process so users can contest age determinations. The FTC and state attorneys general can enforce the rule as an unfair or deceptive practice.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a categorical prohibition on under-16 users accessing major social platforms, enforced through account termination and data deletion. This is a direct regulatory restriction on platform business models and user access, not a tax provision, subsidy, or procedural measure.

What the text implies

• Platforms may respond by implementing aggressive age-verification systems that collect sensitive identity documents (passports, driver's licenses), creating new privacy and data-breach risks for minors seeking to appeal age determinations.
• The bill does not address how platforms will verify age without collecting personal data—a technical contradiction that may force platforms to use third-party age-verification vendors, outsourcing minor data to new intermediaries.

The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.

Who it affects

The bill protects minors from engagement-maximizing design features and data collection by social platforms, addressing documented harms to child mental health and privacy. However, it also eliminates minors' ability to use platforms for communication, community, creative expression, and access to information—benefits that are real and widely used, especially by older teens and marginalized youth who rely on these platforms for social connection and civic participation.