Passed the House 116-25; died in the Senate
Texas HB 212 (Under-16 Social Media Ban)
25%of the way to law
Bad for your rightsIntroduced
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Pre-filed November 9, 2026 for the 2027 session, which begins January 12, 2027
A refiled Texas bill would bar everyone under 16 from social media and make platforms verify every new account holder's age against transactional records.
Latest update
Pre-filed in the Texas House for the 90th Legislature (2027 session)
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This bill is still moving, so there's still time to push back.
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Official bill recordKey facts
- Where
- Texas, United States
- Bill number
- Texas HB 212
- Status
- Introduced
- Introduced
- November 9, 2026
- Threat
- High
- Last update
- November 9, 2026
Topics
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What it does
HB 212 says no one under 16 may use a social media platform, with no parental consent route. Before accepting any new account holder, a platform must verify the person is not under 16 using a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data, may use that data only for the check, and must delete it immediately afterwards. Platforms must delete a child's account within 10 days of a verified parent's request. Knowing violations count as deceptive trade practices. The act would take effect September 1, 2027 and apply to access from January 1, 2028.
What’s at stake
Every new Texas account would start with a lookup against financial or other transactional records, adults included, because a platform cannot tell who is under 16 without checking everyone. Teens under 16 would lose access to lawful speech entirely.
Our take
Rep. Jared Patterson is back with the bill that cleared the Texas House 116-25 in 2025, now set at 16 instead of 18 to match bans abroad. The verification duty is unchanged: prove your age to sign up, for everyone. Texas already enforces an adult-site ID law and an app store law, and this would add social media to the list.
Timeline
90th Texas Legislature convenesUpcoming
Pre-filed in the Texas House for the 90th Legislature (2027 session)Latest
The record
Sponsor
Rep. Jared Patterson
Previous versions
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