Colorado HB24-1136 (Social Media Warnings)
What it does
Colorado HB24-1136 told social media platforms with more than 100,000 users in the state to push a warning to under-18 users, set off after an hour of use in a day and during late-night hours, or to hand younger users state-framed material about social media and the developing brain. The law also funded a state education resource bank on youth social media health. It set no age check and no account ban.
Why it matters
The government wrote the message and made private platforms deliver it, which is where the First Amendment problem starts. Judge William Martinez blocked the warning requirement in November 2025 as compelled speech, and Colorado is appealing to the Tenth Circuit.
Our take
Colorado tried to script what platforms must tell minors, and a federal court stopped it. Forcing a company to carry the state's message is a speech problem the same way forcing its silence is, and it belongs in this tracker for that reason.
Votes
- House — Third reading (54 to 7) · March 11, 2024
- Senate — Third reading (28 to 7) · April 18, 2024
Timeline
- June 6, 2024Signed by Governor Polis
- November 6, 2025Warning requirement blocked as compelled speech
Legal challenges
Preliminary injunction granted Nov 6, 2025 (D. Colo., Judge Martinez) on First Amendment compelled-speech grounds; Colorado appealed to the Tenth Circuit, opening brief filed May 2026, injunction in effect
Our coverage: all free-speech stories · Status checked July 19, 2026