Idaho HB 542 (Addictive Social Media)

Idaho, United StatesID HB 542Updated July 1, 2026

100%became law
Bad for your rightsLaw
  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Became Law

In force

Makes billion-dollar social media platforms estimate the age of Idaho users after heavy use, then treat anyone who reads as 16 or under as a child needing parental consent.

Latest update

Took effect

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The bill

Read the full billOfficial bill record

Key facts

Where
Idaho, United States
Bill number
ID HB 542
Status
Law
Threat
High
Last update
July 1, 2026

Topics

Age VerificationCensorship

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What it does

Idaho HB 542, the Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act, covers platforms with at least a billion dollars in advertising revenue. After a user piles up 25, then 50, then 100 hours, the platform has to estimate their age and treat the account as a child's unless it can show 80 percent confidence the holder is over 16. Accounts read as a child's need verifiable parental consent, and the platform has to switch off infinite scroll, autoplay, constant notifications, and personalized ads for them.

What’s at stake

Age estimation on heavy users means the platform builds a running guess about how old every Idahoan is from how they behave. Clearing the 80 percent bar to call someone an adult is hard, so the safe move for the company is to treat more people as children and gate more of what they see.

Our take

Idaho skipped the hard ban and reached for behavioral age estimation backed by a private right of action, so a negligent slip can draw a lawsuit for emotional distress. It is the softest-looking version of the age-gate fight and one of the easiest to sue over.

Timeline

  1. Took effectLatest

  2. Signed into law (Chapter 268)

The record

Sponsors

Rep. Jaron Crane, House State Affairs Committee

Votes

  • House: Passed (62 to 7), February 9, 2026
  • Senate: Passed (amended) (21 to 14), March 20, 2026
  • House: Concurred (62 to 5), March 25, 2026