New York is advancing a set of proposed regulations that would require social media platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to algorithm-driven feeds or allowing nighttime alerts.
Attorney General Letitia James introduced the draft rules on Monday, tied to the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act, which was signed into law last year by Governor Kathy Hochul.
Presented as part of an effort to reduce mental health harms linked to social media, the law would compel platforms to restrict algorithmic content for anyone under 18 or anyone who hasn’t completed an age verification process, which would mean the introduction of digital ID checks to access online platforms.
In those cases, users would be limited to seeing content in chronological order from accounts they already follow.
Platforms would also be barred from sending notifications between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. to those users.
The rules give companies some flexibility in how they confirm a user’s age, as long as the method is considered effective and designed to protect personal data.
Acceptable alternatives to submitting a government ID include facial analysis that estimates age. Any identifying information collected during verification must be deleted “immediately,” according to the proposal.
For minors to access personalized algorithmic feeds, parental permission would be required.
That too involves a verification step, with the same data-deletion requirements in place once the process is complete.
The SAFE For Kids Act targets platforms where user-generated content is central and where at least 20 percent of time spent involves engagement with feeds tailored to user behavior or device data.
This definition would almost certainly include platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and many more. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, along with other legal consequences.
“Children and teenagers are struggling with high rates of anxiety and depression because of addictive features on social media platforms,” Attorney General James said. “The proposed rules released by my office today will help us tackle the youth mental health crisis and make social media safer for kids and families.”
Before anything takes effect, the proposal will go through a 60-day period for public comment.
The Attorney General’s office will then have up to one year to finalize the rules. The law itself is scheduled to go into effect 180 days after that, although it is almost certain to face legal challenges.
A recent Supreme Court decision allowed states to enforce digital ID checks on adult websites, giving more room for states to experiment with similar policies for social media.
New York’s approach joins a sudden national and global push that raises major questions about privacy, digital access, and how far states can go in regulating online platforms.
