Washington SB 5708 / HB 1834 (Addictive Feeds)

Washington, United StatesWashington SB 5708 / HB 1834Updated March 12, 2026

Stoppedno longer moving
Bad for your rightsDefeated

Passed the Senate 36-12 in 2025; died when the 2026 session ended

Washington's Attorney General-requested bill would have required addictive-feed services to estimate users' ages and withhold personalized feeds from anyone not shown to be an adult.

Latest update

Both bills died when the session ended

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The bill

Official bill record

Key facts

Where
Washington, United States
Bill number
Washington SB 5708 / HB 1834
Status
Defeated
Introduced
February 7, 2025
Threat
Medium
Last update
March 12, 2026

Topics

Age VerificationPrivacyCensorship

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What it does

ESSB 5708 required operators of services built around an addictive feed to "estimate the age of minor users with a reasonable level of certainty." From January 1, 2026, they could not serve an addictive feed to a user unless they had "reasonably determined that the user is not a minor," and push notifications to users not shown to be adults were barred from midnight to 6 a.m. and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school weekdays without parental consent. Violations fell under the Consumer Protection Act. The House companion, 3SHB 1834, dropped the express estimation duty but kept the feed gate, starting July 1, 2027.

What’s at stake

Personalized feeds are how most large social platforms work. Any Washington user the operator could not classify as an adult would lose that feed, so adults would face pressure to prove their age to get the ordinary service back.

Our take

Washington copied New York's SAFE for Kids approach, which turns the feed into a reward for proving you are an adult. The Senate passed it 36-12, and the House companion cleared two committees before both stalled in Rules. The Attorney General asked for this bill, so a 2027 version is likely.

Timeline

  1. Both bills died when the session endedLatest

  2. SB 5708 moved to the Senate Rules X file

  3. HB 1834 moved to the House Rules X file

  4. House Appropriations passed a third substitute of HB 1834

  5. Referred to House Consumer Protection and Business, which took no action

  6. Senate passed ESSB 5708, 36-12

  7. Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations passed substitutes

  8. HB 1834 substitute passed House Consumer Protection and Business

  9. SB 5708 introduced

The record

Sponsors

Sen. Noel Frame, Rep. Lisa Callan

Votes

  • Senate: Passed (House never voted) (36 to 12), March 12, 2025