Amid rising concerns about the impact of social media on youth, Michigan is contemplating a legislative move that could change how minors access these platforms. The proposed House Bill 4388 seeks to enforce age verification and parental consent for social media users under 18 years old.
The bill targets platforms with a user base of 5 million or more. It stipulates that teenagers can only open accounts with parental or guardian approval. These accounts, classified as “minor accounts,” would come with additional limitations.
Parents who consent would be able to monitor their child’s social media activity, including posts and private messages, and impose curfews to control usage during night hours, unless manually overridden.
Proponents argue that this measure could enhance parental supervision at a time when social media’s effect on young people’s mental health is increasingly scrutinized. One supporter equates consenting to a platform’s terms with entering a contract, suggesting that such responsibility should rest with parents rather than minors, as noted in a recent statement.
Michigan educational institutions report challenges in managing students’ social media engagement.
Conversely, digital rights advocates caution that the bill might compromise privacy and security. Activist Molly Buckley from the Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that users would sacrifice anonymity, increasing risks of data breaches and misuse by malicious entities. “People will have to sacrifice that anonymity in order to access the internet, and that means that personal private data is able to be collected and retained and stored and breached, maybe used by bad actors linking your identity to the sites that you visit online,” Buckley stated.
Buckley also expressed concerns about the potential restriction on young individuals’ online expression. “It’s going to cause problems for our privacy, for our security for our young people’s expressive rights and their ability to sort of develop their identities and their voices online and participate in our public conversations,” she noted.
The proposal currently resides with the House Regulatory Reform Committee and awaits further consideration before reaching a legislative vote in the House or Senate.
Previously, a similar proposal requiring parental consent for social media use failed to pass in 2024.
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