Utah Minor Protection in Social Media Act (SB 194)
What it does
Utah went first. Its 2023 laws required age verification for social media accounts, parental consent for minors, and a nightly curfew locking minors out overnight. After the lawsuits landed, Utah repealed and replaced them in March 2024 with SB 194 and HB 464, a softer regime of age ID checks, parental supervision tools, and default limits for minors. A federal judge enjoined it on First Amendment grounds on September 10, 2024, before it could take effect, and the injunction still holds with the case active as of mid-2026.
Why it matters
Utah invented the state social media age law and every state that followed, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, borrowed the design. The courts have blocked it at every step so far. Utah's answer was not retreat but a flank: the app store law, which moves the same age check somewhere the social media precedents do not clearly reach.
Our take
Watch the pattern, not the bill. Utah loses on age-checking social media, so it age-checks the app store instead. The goal never changed: no minor online without papers, which means nobody online without papers. The courtroom losses just teach the drafters where to aim next.
Votes
- Senate — Final passage (21 to 1) · February 21, 2024
- House — Passed as amended (61 to 11) · February 28, 2024
Timeline
- March 13, 2024SB 194 and HB 464 signed, replacing the 2023 laws
- September 10, 2024Preliminary injunction granted in NetChoice v. Reyes
Previous versions
- 2023
Legal challenges
Preliminary injunction since September 2024; litigation ongoing
Related bills
Our coverage: all age-verification stories