SB 165: Minors; social media and internet safety; account termination upon the request of minors or their parents or guardians; provide

Georgia law already requires commercial websites to verify ages for material harmful to minors and regulates social media platforms' handling of minors' accounts. This bill tightens those rules. It raises the fine commercial entities face for violating the harmful-materials age verification law from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation. For social media platforms, the bill bars anyone younger than 14 from having an account at all, and bars 14 and 15 year olds from having an account unless a parent or guardian gives express consent through specific approved methods, such as a signed form, phone call, or video call. Platforms must terminate existing accounts belonging to underage users, giving account holders 90 days to dispute a termination, and must delete accounts within five business days of a minor's request or ten business days of a parent's request, then permanently delete the personal information tied to that account. It also raises the Attorney General's maximum penalty per violation to $50,000 plus attorney's fees, and creates a new civil right of action letting minors sue platforms for up to $10,000 in damages for knowing or reckless violations. The law would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Raises the fine for commercial entities that violate Georgia's harmful-to-minors age verification law (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5) from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation.
• Bars social media platforms from letting anyone younger than 14 hold an account under any circumstances.
• Requires platforms to get a parent or guardian's express consent, through specific listed methods, before letting a 14 or 15 year old hold an account.
• Requires platforms to terminate accounts belonging to underage users, with a 90 day dispute window, and to honor takedown requests from minors within five business days or from parents within ten business days.
• Requires platforms to permanently delete personal information from terminated underage accounts unless another law requires keeping it.
• Raises the Attorney General's maximum penalty against platforms from $2,500 to $50,000 per violation and creates a new civil lawsuit letting minors seek up to $10,000 in damages.

Minors and their parents or guardians, social media platform operators that must build new age verification and account termination systems, commercial websites already subject to Georgia's harmful-to-minors law, and the Georgia Attorney General's office, which enforces these requirements in court.

Georgia families would gain a direct way to force removal of a minor's social media account and its personal data, while platforms would face steep new financial exposure, including a first-time private lawsuit option for minors, for failing to verify ages or honor takedown requests.

• Section 1 raises the fine under the harmful-to-minors age verification law (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5) from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 39-6-2 to require parental consent for 14 and 15 year old account holders and to ban accounts for anyone under 14 outright.
• Section 2 requires platforms to terminate underage accounts, provide a 90 day dispute period, and process deletion requests within five business days (minor request) or ten business days (parent request).
• Section 2 requires permanent deletion of personal information tied to terminated underage accounts, absent a legal retention requirement.
• Section 3 raises the Attorney General's maximum enforcement penalty under O.C.G.A. § 39-6-4 from $2,500 to $50,000 per violation plus court costs and attorney's fees, while keeping a 90 day cure notice period.
• Section 4 creates a new Code section 39-6-6 giving minors a civil right to sue platforms for up to $10,000 in damages for knowing or reckless violations, with a one year statute of limitations.
• Section 4 also deems a platform that lets a minor 14 or older create an account to have entered into a contract with that minor.
• Section 5 sets an effective date of July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-02-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)

• social media regulation
• children's online safety
• parental consent
• internet privacy
• age verification