Senate Bill 165
By: Senators Merritt of the 9th, Jones II of the 22nd, Kemp of the 38th, Jackson of the 41st,
Orrock of the 36th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to minors, so as to
provide for social media and internet safety for minors; to increase the amount of the fine for
which commercial entities may be liable; to require providers of social media platforms to
verify the age of account holders; to require providers of social media platforms to refuse
account services to minors who are 14 or 15 years of age without parental consent; to require
providers of social media platforms to refuse account services to minors who are younger
than 14 years of age; to provide for account termination upon the request of minors or their
parents or guardians; to provide for the deletion of personal information, subject to
exceptions; to increase the amount of the fine for which providers of a social media platform
may be liable; to create a civil remedy for minors to recover damages against providers of
a social media platform; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to minors, is amended in
Chapter 5, relating to online internet safety, by revising paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of
Code Section 39-5-5, relating to commercial entity age verification, access to material
harmful to minors, data retention, penalties, and exclusions, as follows:
"(3) A commercial entity that violates this Code section shall be subject to a fine of up
to <del>$10,000.00</del> <ins>$50,000.00</ins> for each violation, the amount of which shall be determined by
the superior court in the county in which any affected minor resides. The Attorney
General or solicitor general or district attorney having jurisdiction shall institute
proceedings to impose such fine within one year of the violation. The issuance of a fine
under this paragraph shall not preclude any right of action."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended in Chapter 6, relating to social media platforms, by revising
Code Section 39-6-2, relating to age verification of account holders, minors, and information
relating to available content censorship or moderation features, as follows:
"39-6-2.
(a) The provider of a social media platform shall make commercially reasonable efforts
to verify the age of account holders with a level of certainty appropriate to the risks that
arise from the social media platform's information management practices or shall apply the
special conditions applied to minors under this chapter to all account holders.
(b) The provider of a social media platform shall treat as a minor any individual such
provider verifies to be under the age of 16 years.
<ins>(c)(1)</ins> No provider of a social media platform shall permit a minor <ins>who is 14 or 15 years
of age</ins> to be an account holder unless such provider obtains the express consent of such
minor's parent or guardian. Acceptable methods of obtaining express consent from a
parent or guardian include:
<ins>(1)(A)</ins> Providing a form for the minor's parent or guardian to sign and return to the
social media platform by common carrier, facsimile, email, or scanning;
<ins>(2)(B)</ins> Providing a toll-free telephone number for the minor's parent or guardian to call
to consent;
<ins>(3)(C)</ins> Coordinating a call with the minor's parent or guardian using videoconferencing
technology;
<ins>(4)(D)</ins> Collecting information related to the minor's parent's or guardian's government
issued identification or financial or payment card information and deleting such
information after confirming the identity of the parent or guardian;
<ins>(5)(E)</ins> Allowing the minor's parent or guardian to provide consent by responding to an
email and taking additional steps to verify the parent's or guardian's identity; and
<ins>(6)(F)</ins> Any other commercially reasonable method of obtaining consent using available
technology.
<ins>(2) Each provider of a social media platform shall:
(A) Terminate any account held by an account holder who is 14 or 15 years of age,
including accounts that the provider of a social media platform treats or categorizes as
belonging to an account holder who is likely 14 or 15 years of age for purposes of
targeting content or advertising; provided, however, that such provider of a social
media platform shall provide 90 days for an account holder to dispute such termination;
and provided, further, that such termination shall be effective upon the expiration of
such 90 day period if the account holder fails to effectively dispute such termination;
(B) Permit an account holder who is 14 or 15 years of age to request to terminate the
account and ensure such account is terminated within five business days after such
request;
(C) Permit the parent or guardian of an account holder who is 14 or 15 years of age to
request that such minor's account be terminated and ensure such account is terminated
within ten business days after such request; and
</ins>
<ins>(D) Permanently delete all personal information held by the provider of the social
media platform relating to such terminated account, unless there are legal requirements
to maintain such information.
(c.1)(1) No provider of a social media platform shall permit a minor who is younger than
14 years of age to be an account holder.
(2) Each provider of a social media platform shall:
(A) Terminate any account held by an account holder who is younger than 14 years of
age, including accounts that the provider of a social media platform treats or categorizes
as belonging to an account holder who is likely younger than 14 years of age for
purposes of targeting content or advertising; provided, however, that such provider of
a social media platform shall provide 90 days for an account holder to dispute such
termination; and provided, further, that such termination shall be effective upon the
expiration of such 90 day period if the account holder fails to effectively dispute such
termination;
(B) Permit an account holder who is younger than 14 years of age to request to
terminate the account and ensure such account is terminated within five business days
after such request;
(C) Permit the parent or guardian of an account holder who is younger than 14 years
of age to request that such minor's account be terminated and ensure such account is
terminated within ten business days after such request; and
(D) Permanently delete all personal information held by the provider of the social
media platform relating to such terminated account, unless there are legal requirements
to maintain such information.
</ins> (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no provider of a social media
platform shall permit a minor to hold or open an account on the social media platform if
the minor is ineligible to hold or open an account under any other provision of state or
federal law.
(e) The provider of a social media platform shall make available, upon the request of a
parent or guardian of a minor, a list and description of the features offered by the social
media platform related to censoring or moderating content available on the social media
platform, including any features that can be disabled or modified by an account holder."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in said chapter by revising Code Section 39-6-4, relating to
enforceability by Attorney General, as follows:
"39-6-4.
(a) The Attorney General shall have exclusive authority to enforce the provisions of this
chapter and the authority to take action pursuant to Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of
Title 10, the 'Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.'
(b) <ins>Except as provided in Code Section 39-6-6, nothing</ins> <del>Nothing</del> in this chapter shall be
interpreted to serve as the basis for a private right of action under this chapter or any other
law.
(c) Subject to the ability to cure an alleged violation under subsection (d) of this Code
section, the Attorney General may initiate an action and seek damages for up to <del>$2,500.00
</del> <ins>$50,000.00 and court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees,</ins> for each violation under
this chapter.
(d) At least 90 days before the day on which the Attorney General initiates an enforcement
action against a person or entity that is subject to the requirements of this chapter, the
Attorney General shall provide the person or entity with a written notice that identifies each
alleged violation and an explanation of the basis for each allegation. The Attorney General
shall not initiate an action if the person or entity cures the noticed violation within 90 days
of receiving notice from the Attorney General and provides the Attorney General with a
written statement indicating that the alleged violation is cured."
SECTION 4.
Said title is further amended in said chapter by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"39-6-6.
(a) A provider of a social media platform that knowingly or recklessly violates
subsection (c) or (c.1) of Code Section 39-6-2 shall be liable to the minor account holder,
including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees as ordered by the court. Claimants may
be awarded up to $10,000.00 in damages.
(b) A civil action for a claim under this Code section shall be brought within one year from
the date the complainant knew, or reasonably should have known, of the alleged violation.
(c) Any action brought under this Code section may only be brought on behalf of a minor
account holder.
(d) For purposes of bringing an action under this Code section, a provider of a social
media platform that allows a minor to create an account on such platform is considered to
be both engaged in substantial and not isolated activities within this state and operating,
conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business and doing business in this state, and is
therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state.
(e) A provider of a social media platform that allows a minor who is 14 years of age or
older to create an account on such platform has entered into a contract with such minor.
(f) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit or preclude any other available
remedy at law or equity."
</ins> SECTION 5.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.
SECTION 6.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.