Congress bans under-16s from social media—but leaves age verification to platforms
H.R. 6488 — RESET Act · Filed by Erin Houchin (R-IN) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 5, 2025 · Markup held
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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 minor accounts within 180 days, delete all personal data collected from those minors, and allow minors a 90-day window to download their data before deletion. The FTC enforces violations as unfair or deceptive practices, and states can sue on behalf of residents.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a blanket prohibition on minors under 16 accessing covered platforms, enforced through account termination and data deletion. This is a direct regulatory restriction on platform business models and minor user access, not a privacy framework or transparency measure.
What the text implies
- The bill defines 'covered platform' by cross-reference to the TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119–12), which is not provided in this text. The scope of platforms affected is therefore opaque to readers of this bill alone.
- Platforms must delete all personal data 'immediately' upon account termination, but minors have 90 days to request a copy. The interaction between immediate deletion and the 90-day access window is mechanically unclear—platforms may interpret this as requiring data retention for 90 days despite the deletion mandate.
- The bill applies nationwide but explicitly preempts state laws on the same subject ('No State or political subdivision of a State may prescribe, maintain, or enforce any law...relating to the provisions of this section'). This prevents states from adopting less restrictive or more protective alternatives.
- Enforcement is split between the FTC (treating violations as unfair/deceptive practices) and state attorneys general (parens patriae actions). The FTC's jurisdiction over 'unfair or deceptive acts' may not clearly cover technical non-compliance or good-faith disputes over age verification.
- The bill does not specify how platforms must verify age or what constitutes 'actual knowledge' that a user is a minor. This creates compliance ambiguity and potential liability for platforms that rely on user-provided age data.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill protects minors' privacy by mandating data deletion and preventing underage account creation, which addresses documented harms from social media exposure. However, it eliminates minors' ability to access platforms entirely—a significant restriction on their own autonomy and speech—and creates enforcement uncertainty that may affect how platforms operate for all users.
Who stands to gain
- Age verification technology vendors
- Data deletion/compliance software providers
- Platforms with older user demographics (Facebook, LinkedIn, news sites)
Named in the bill
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119–12), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Social media platforms (unnamed, defined by cross-reference), State attorneys general
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Dec 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
- Sep 1, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,750,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 66 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Erin Houchin, the sponsor, reported $1,063,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Association for Justice — $3,610,000 on 2 filings
- Technet — $80,000 on 1 filing
- Software & Information Industry Association (siia) — $60,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,563 characters) on Aug 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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