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Bill

H 3402

Age-Appropriate Design

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brandon Guffey and 1 co-sponsor

Bill requires digital platforms to implement age-appropriate design safeguards protecting minors under 18 from harmful content, data exploitation, and manipulative features.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · H 3402

Legislative bill overview

H 3402 establishes design standards requiring digital platforms and online services to implement age-appropriate protections for minors under 18. The bill mandates that companies assess potential harms to children and implement safeguards such as privacy controls, content filtering, and limits on algorithmic amplification of harmful content.

Why is this important

Children represent a significant portion of digital platform users, yet they may lack the developmental capacity to understand data collection practices or resist manipulative design features. This legislation attempts to shift responsibility from parents alone to technology companies for creating safer digital environments, addressing concerns about mental health impacts, data exploitation, and exposure to harmful content.

Potential points of contention

  • Industry compliance costs: Technology companies argue implementation expenses are substantial and may disproportionately affect smaller platforms, potentially reducing competition and innovation in the digital space
  • Enforcement and definition ambiguity: "Age-appropriate" lacks universal definition—what's appropriate varies by age, developmental stage, and cultural values, creating enforcement challenges and potential inconsistency
  • Parental rights tensions: Some argue this expands government regulation into parenting decisions and family privacy, while others contend it appropriately holds corporations accountable rather than placing full burden on individual parents

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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