Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB165: SB165 Minors; social media and internet safety; account termination upon the request of minors or their parents or guardians; provide

Last action February 13, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would require social media platforms to verify users' ages, block accounts for kids under 14, require parental consent for 14 and 15 year olds, and let minors or parents demand account termination.

In plain language

Georgia law already regulates online safety for minors, but this bill tightens the rules for social media platforms and raises the penalties tied to them. It requires platforms to make commercially reasonable efforts to verify users' ages, and to treat anyone verified as under 16 as a minor under special rules. Platforms could not let anyone younger than 14 hold an account at all, and could not let 14 or 15 year olds hold an account without a parent's or guardian's express consent, obtained through methods like a signed form, a phone call, or video verification. Platforms must terminate accounts belonging to underage users, including accounts they suspect belong to minors for ad-targeting purposes, but must give account holders 90 days to dispute the termination. Minors or their parents can also request termination directly, which must happen within 5 or 10 business days. Terminated accounts' personal information must be deleted unless the law requires keeping it. The bill raises fines for violations, lets the Attorney General seek up to $50,000 per violation, and creates a new civil lawsuit right for minors to recover up to $10,000 in damages. It would take effect July 1, 2025.

What the bill does

Raises the fine commercial entities face for violating Georgia's age verification law on harmful material (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5) from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation.
Requires social media platforms to make commercially reasonable efforts to verify account holders' ages or apply minor protections to everyone.
Bans platforms from letting anyone younger than 14 hold an account, and bans 14 or 15 year olds from holding one without parental consent obtained through specific methods.
Requires platforms to terminate underage accounts (with a 90 day dispute window) and to honor termination requests from minors or their parents within 5 to 10 business days.
Requires platforms to permanently delete a terminated account's personal information unless a legal requirement says otherwise.
Raises the Attorney General's maximum penalty per violation from $2,500 to $50,000 and creates a new lawsuit minors can bring against platforms for up to $10,000 in damages.

Who it affects

Minors and their parents or guardians in Georgia, social media platform providers that operate accounts for Georgia users, commercial entities that publish material that could be harmful to minors, and the Georgia Attorney General's office, which enforces these rules.

Why it matters

If enacted, Georgia minors under 14 could no longer legally hold social media accounts, and 14 and 15 year olds would need parental sign-off. Parents would gain a direct way to force account deletion, platforms would face steep new fines, and minors would gain a new right to sue platforms directly for damages.

Key provisions

Section 1 raises the fine for commercial entities that violate Georgia's minor age verification law (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5) from up to $10,000 to up to $50,000 per violation.
Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 39-6-2 to require age verification, ban accounts for those under 14, and require parental consent for 14 and 15 year olds, listing acceptable consent methods.
Section 2 also requires platforms to terminate accounts of underage or suspected underage users after a 90 day dispute period, and to honor termination requests from minors (5 business days) or parents (10 business days), then delete personal information.
Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 39-6-4 to raise the Attorney General's maximum penalty per violation from $2,500 to $50,000 and requires 90 days' notice before an enforcement action, with a cure period.
Section 4 adds new Code Section 39-6-6 creating a civil right of action for minors against platforms that knowingly or recklessly violate the age and consent rules, capped at $10,000 in damages plus attorney's fees.
Section 4 also states that a platform allowing a minor to open an account is considered to be doing business in Georgia and subject to Georgia courts' jurisdiction.
Section 5 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

Status timeline

2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

social media regulation
child online safety
parental consent
internet privacy
age verification