RESET Act
United StatesWould ban every under-16 from having a social media account and pressure platforms to determine which users are minors.
Latest update
Introduced in the House and referred to Energy and Commerce
Current position
Dormant after referral to House Energy and Commerce; no further action recorded since December 5, 2025
What it does
The RESET Act would prohibit covered platforms from knowingly allowing anyone under 16 to create or maintain an account. Platforms would have to identify known minor accounts, notify their users, terminate the accounts, and delete the associated personal data. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the ban, state attorneys general could sue, and the bill would preempt state laws covering the same requirements.
Why it matters
The bill does not expressly order a platform to verify every user age, but a nationwide under-16 ban cannot be enforced reliably without sorting minors from adults. Its actual-knowledge and willful-disregard standard gives platforms a reason to investigate age rather than risk federal and state enforcement.
Our take
Congress is calling this a ban on teenage accounts, but the checkpoint sits in front of everyone. A platform cannot prove it kept every under-16 out without deciding who is under 16, and that turns an age limit for children into an age-detection system for the entire user base.
Timeline
Introduced in the House and referred to Energy and Commerce
LatestSponsor
Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN)
Committee
House Energy and Commerce Committee