Illinois HB 5511 (Device Age Signal and Minor Defaults)
Illinois, United StatesHigh threat- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Stage 4 of 4: Became Law
Illinois makes device makers, operating systems and app stores ask a user's age at setup and pass that self-declared age to social media platforms as a signal, which then triggers default restrictions for minors.
Latest update
Signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker as Public Act 104-0664
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Take action on this issueWhat it does
By January 1, 2028, device makers, operating system providers and app stores must offer an interface at account setup where the account holder enters the primary user's birth date or age, and with the user's consent must pass an age-bracket signal to covered social media operators; devices set up earlier must get the interface before July 1, 2028. By July 1, 2028, operators must request the signal when a user downloads or launches their platform, and an under-18 signal counts as actual knowledge that the user is a minor on that device, while operators "shall not be required to independently verify the age of the user." Users identified as minors get defaults that hide their accounts and posts from unconnected adults, block adult messages, likes and comments, limit location sharing and gifted currency, and turn off search indexing and autoplay. Notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and addictive feeds require verifiable parental consent, and the attorney general can seek $50,000 per violation.
What’s at stake
Illinois attaches an age field to every device account and requires social platforms to call it before a user starts, which makes the operating system the gatekeeper for who counts as a child online. The signal starts as a typed-in birth date. A later law can require that birth date to be verified without rebuilding any of the plumbing Illinois now mandates.
Our take
Illinois paired the California-style age signal with a full set of default restrictions, so the device's answer decides what a teenager may post and who may talk to them. The law is candid that no one has to verify anything yet. At $50,000 a violation, platforms will build the signal pipeline on schedule, and once it reaches every social app in the state, swapping a typed birth date for an ID check is a small amendment.
Timeline
Platforms must request the age signal; deadline for existing devices to get the age interfaceUpcoming
Law takes effect; device makers, operating systems and app stores must collect age at setupUpcoming
Signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker as Public Act 104-0664Latest
Passed the House
Introduced in the House
Sponsors
Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Sen. Willie Preston
Votes
- Senate — Passed (57 to 0)
- House — Concurred (113 to 0)
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