Indiana HEA 1408 (Social Media, Under-16 Consent)
Indiana, United StatesHigh threat- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Stage 4 of 4: Became Law
Indiana's social media law makes large platforms keep estimating users' ages as they log hours, and shuts down under-16 accounts that lack parental consent.
Latest update
Act took effect; social media chapter delayed to 2027
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Take action on this issueWhat it does
From January 1, 2027, a covered social media provider must screen age and state of residence at signup and may open an account for an Indiana user under 16 only with verifiable parental consent. The law then orders continuing age estimation: within 14 days after an account passes 25 hours of use in six months, again at 50 hours, after every additional 100 hours and whenever the provider collects demographic data. A user flagged as under 16 without consent gets 30 days to produce parental consent or prove age through transactional data, or the account is terminated. The law covers providers with at least $1 billion in worldwide revenue, algorithmic feeds, at least one addictive feature and heavy under-16 use, and the Attorney General enforces it as a deceptive act.
What’s at stake
The age check here repeats: the more someone uses a platform, the more often the platform must analyze them to guess their age. Adults wrongly flagged as teenagers must hand over financial or transaction records to keep their accounts.
Our take
Indiana wrote ongoing age monitoring of adults into law and called it child safety. The estimates recur after 100 more hours of use for the life of an account, and only accounts held for 10 straight years are exempt.
Timeline
IC 24-16 social media duties take effectUpcoming
Act took effect; social media chapter delayed to 2027Latest
Signed by Gov. Mike Braun (reported the week of March 2)
Senate adopted the conference report 49-1
House adopted the conference report 93-0
Sponsors
Rep. Bob Behning, Sen. Jeff Raatz
Votes
- House — Adopted conference report (93 to 0) · February 26, 2026
- Senate — Adopted conference report (49 to 1) · February 27, 2026
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