A Texas lawmaker is renewing an effort to ban children from social media after a similar proposal failed to become law during the state’s previous legislative session.House Bill 212, filed by state Rep. Jared Patterson, a Republican, would prohibit children younger than 16 from using social media platforms, regardless of whether they have permission from a parent or guardian.The proposal would also require social media companies to verify users’ ages and remove accounts belonging to underage children upon a verified request from a parent or guardian.What would the bill change?Under the legislation, social media companies would be required to use commercially reasonable age-verification methods relying on public or private transactional data before allowing someone to create an account.That means adults seeking to create accounts would also be subject to age verification.Companies would be prohibited from retaining personal information collected during the verification process. That information could only be used to verify a person’s age and would have to be deleted immediately afterward.The bill would also give parents and guardians a way to request the removal of accounts belonging to children younger than 16. Platforms would have 10 days to comply with those requests.Companies that knowingly violate the requirements could face enforcement under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.If approved, the law would take effect Sept. 1, 2027, with the social media restrictions applying beginning Jan. 1, 2028.Texas lawmakers have tried this beforeThe proposal is not Patterson’s first attempt to restrict children’s access to social media.During the 2025 legislative session, Patterson introduced House Bill 186, which would have prohibited anyone younger than 18 from using social media platforms.The measure passed the Texas House by a bipartisan 116-25 vote and advanced through a Senate committee, but never received a vote from the full Senate before a legislative deadline.The proposal faced opposition from teenagers, civil liberties advocates and technology groups who raised concerns about free speech and privacy. However, lawmakers did not formally establish a single reason for its failure.Patterson’s latest proposal lowers the age restriction from 18 to 16 while retaining many of the same age-verification and account-removal requirements.Texas has already enacted other laws intended to protect children online, including the 2023 SCOPE Act, which established parental oversight and other requirements for digital platforms. Portions of that law have faced federal court challenges over constitutional concerns.HB 212 has been filed ahead of the 2027 legislative session, which begins in January. The bill must pass both chambers and receive the governor’s approval before becoming law.MiddayMore Stories Like This In Our Email NewsletterCopyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
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