Texas Moves to Ban Social Media Accounts for Under 18s

Texas lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for minors, citing rising youth mental health issues and data concerns from online platforms.

Texas lawmakers have taken a big step toward banning minors from social media. On Tuesday, the Texas House passed House Bill 186 in a 116-25 vote, which would stop anyone under 18 from creating social media accounts.

The bill, authored by Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), would also require platforms to verify users’ ages and delete personal data after verification.

“I firmly believe that social media is the most harmful product that our kids have legal access to in Texas,” Patterson said, as reported by Kxan. He argued the bill is needed to fight the growing mental health crisis among young people.

Patterson pointed to a 2022 study where a fake 13-year-old user was shown suicide content within three minutes and eating disorder content within eight. “It is our kids killing themselves at a clip that we’ve never seen before in the history of the state of Texas,” he said, as reported by Kxan.

He dedicated the bill to children who lost their lives due to social media harm, including David Molak, who died by suicide after online bullying. “I was very moved at [Patterson’s] thoughtfulness in remembering David,” said David’s mother, Maurine Molak, as reported by Kxan.

Still, some lawmakers and civil liberties advocates raised concerns. “What about the concern that this is helping these social media companies collect even more data on us?” asked Rep, as reported by Kxan. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood). The ACLU also criticized the bill. “We believe this law is clearly unconstitutional,” said attorney Brian Klosterboer, pointing out that it would block all under-18s, even with parental permission, reported Kxan.

If passed by the Senate, companies would be forced to delete a child’s account within 10 days if requested by a parent. Another bill requiring social media warning labels for minors also passed on the same day.

“The harms we are seeing in today’s children will only be exacerbated if steps are not taken,” Patterson warned, as reported by Texas Tribune.