SF4696

Purpose

• Establishes requirements for social media platforms regarding accounts held by minors in Minnesota.
• Aims to reduce harms from addictive interface features and from targeted paid advertising on child accounts.
• Creates rules for how age is estimated, how child accounts are created and maintained, and how such accounts can be terminated.
• Sets up enforcement mechanisms and remedies for violations, including private rights of action and penalties.

Key definitions and terms

• Account holder: a Minnesota resident with an account on a covered social media platform while the platform knows or should know the user is in the state.
• Addictive interface features: elements designed to grab and hold attention, such as infinite scrolling, seamless feeds, push notifications, autoplay video, and displays of personal metrics, awards, and engagement data.
• Child: a person 15 years old or younger living in Minnesota.
• Minor: a person under 18.
• Covered social media platform: a platform that earned at least $1,000,000,000 in worldwide advertising revenue in one or more of the previous three years.
• Profile-based feed: a feed prioritized by the platform using personal information about the account holder, with certain exceptions.
• Personal information: data about an account holder collected online, including online activity, geolocation, biometrics, photos, and more; certain terms are limited or excluded.
• Verifiable parental consent: consent from a parent or guardian that meets federal COPPA standards and includes documentation retained by the platform.
• Targeted paid commercial advertising: paid ads selected or prioritized for a user based on activity or personal information, with a protection to exclude age-inappropriate ads for children.
• Age estimation: process to determine whether an account holder is a child or not, using hours spent on the platform and available data.

Main Provisions

1) Age estimation and classification - After 25 hours on the platform in six months, platforms have 14 days to estimate the user’s age. - If there is 80% confidence the user is over 15, the platform may treat them as not a child; otherwise they must treat them as a child. - After 50 hours, platforms have 14 days to revise the age estimate; if there is 90% confidence the user is over 15, they may be treated as not a child; otherwise treated as a child. - Platforms must update age estimates after every additional 100 hours on the platform or with other data analytics.

2) Creation and maintenance of child accounts - Platforms must require birth dates during account creation. - May not create or maintain a child account or change terms for a child without verifiable parental consent. - Information collected to obtain consent must be deleted after the attempt, unless required by other laws. - Platforms must provide clear, easy-to-find information about creating/maintaining a child account.

3) Privacy and parental controls for child accounts - Default privacy settings for a child account must be the most private. - Any privacy setting changes for a child require verifiable parental consent. - When obtaining consent, platforms must offer an option for the parent to receive a password to monitor time spent, set daily/weekly limits, and set times of day when the platform can be used.

4) Prohibition on addictive interfaces and targeted ads for child accounts - Platforms may not present addictive interface features to child accounts. - Platforms may not display targeted paid advertising to child accounts.

5) Termination and disputes about child status - Platforms must terminate a child’s account if it determines the user is a child and no verifiable parental consent was obtained, within specified timeframes (7 days from the account holder’s request; 14 days from a parent's request, with verification). - If termination is triggered by age classification, the platform must notify the user and allow 30 days to dispute the age and complete an age verification process. - If a dispute is resolved in favor of termination, the platform must terminate within 7 days. - Platforms must provide a simple way for parents to request termination.

6) Exclusions - Content that parents show to their children and certain search engine results are not limited by these provisions.

7) Enforcement and remedies - Contracts formed in violation are invalid and unenforceable; no waivers. - Private right of action for children or parents: declaratory or injunctive relief, damages, costs, fees, and attorney fees; other relief as appropriate. - If a platform allowed a child to open or continue an account without sufficient parental consent, such contracts are invalid. - If a violation is reckless or knowing, statutory damages of $10,000 may be awarded on top of actual damages; punitive damages for a pattern of conduct may also be awarded. - If the platform used reasonable efforts to comply, it may avoid liability. - Civil actions must be brought within three years, tolled until the child reaches 18. - Violations also constitute deceptive trade practices; the attorney general has enforcement authority.

8) General enforcement note - The statute provides standard enforcement and remedies parallel to other consumer protection provisions.

Practical impact and summary of changes

• Shifts some online-minor protections from voluntary platform practices into enforceable state law.
• Requires platforms to actively estimate ages and to treat uncertain cases as child accounts unless a high confidence threshold is met.
• Tightens control over how child accounts are created, maintained, and monitored, including parental involvement and time-use restrictions.
• Removes addictive interface features and targeted advertising from child feeds and supports swift termination of child accounts when parental consent is lacking.
• Enables private lawsuits and AG enforcement with potential damages for violations, while offering a permissive defense if platforms demonstrate reasonable compliance efforts.

Relevant terms - addictive interface features - infinite scrolling - autoplay - profile-based feed - covered social media platform - child account - verifiable parental consent - age estimation - 25 hours / six months - 50 hours / six months - 80 percent confidence - 90 percent confidence - personal information - targeted paid commercial advertising - privacy settings - monitor time - daily and weekly time limits - times of day access - termination of child accounts - private right of action - damages (including statutory damages of 10,000) - punitive damages - deceptive trade practices - enforcement by attorney general - COPPA references (for consent and data handling)