Texas is poised to become the next US state to impose regulations on social media platforms. A bill currently making its way through the Texas legislature, which would prohibit social media use for individuals under the age of 18, has recently cleared the Senate committee and is scheduled for a vote in the Texas State Senate. With the state’s legislative session set to conclude on June 2, the bill has a limited window of approximately one week to gain approval from both the Senate and the governor.

Earlier in the year, the bill successfully passed the House committee stage and was subsequently approved by the Texas House of Representatives. If enacted into law, the bill would require social media platforms to verify the age of all users creating an account, similar to the legislation Texas passed mandating age verification for websites hosting adult content. Additionally, the proposed social media ban in Texas would grant parents the authority to delete their child’s social media account, with platforms required to comply within 10 days or face a fine from the state’s attorney general.

Texas is not the only governing body seeking to restrict access to social media. In the previous year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that outright prohibits individuals under the age of 14 from using social media and mandates parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to create or use an existing account. Notably, the proposed law in Texas is significantly stricter than Florida’s legislation.

On a broader scale, the US Senate introduced a bill in April 2024 aimed at banning social media platforms for individuals under the age of 13. After being stalled in the committee stage, Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently made comments suggesting a potential second attempt to pass this legislation.