Summary — HB 6857
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SOCIAL MEDIA AND MINORS
Status & procedural history
- Bill number: HB 6857. Introduced: February 5, 2025. Filed as File No. 931 in the Senate (May 16, 2025).
- Key steps:
- Referred to Joint Committee on General Law (Feb 5, 2025).
- Public hearing held (Feb 6, 2025).
- Joint Favorable Substitute reported (Mar 12–31, 2025) and placed on the House calendar.
- House passed the bill with House Amendment Schedule A (May 14, 2025).
- Favorable report in the Senate and placed on the Senate calendar (May 16, 2025).
- Current posture (as of latest action): Passed by the House with amendments and awaiting further Senate consideration on the calendar.
Purpose / intent
- The bill implements recommendations from the Attorney General aimed at protecting minors in their use of social media. Based on the bill title and subject tags, the overarching goals are to increase transparency, strengthen parental notice/controls, protect personal data of children and teens, and create enforcement mechanisms (including remedies for unfair or deceptive trade practices).
Key provisions (based on bill title and subject classification)
Note: The full text of the bill was not provided. The following summarizes the types of provisions indicated by the bill’s title and subject entries (Attorney General, children, disclosure, parental notification, personal data, social media, unfair or deceptive trade practices, violations):
Parental notification/consent
- Requirements that social media platforms provide timely notice to parents or guardians about account creation/use by minors, or obtain parental consent for certain data processing or account features.
- Possible parental access or control mechanisms (e.g., ability to review or delete a child’s account).
Personal data protection and disclosure
- Restrictions on collection, usage, retention, and targeted advertising using minors’ personal data.
- Mandatory disclosures to users (and parents) about what data is collected, how it is used, whether automated recommendations or algorithms are applied, and third‑party sharing.
Transparency and labeling
- Requirements for platforms to disclose algorithmic features that may affect minors (e.g., recommendation systems, autoplay, time spent prompts).
- Clear notices or age-appropriate privacy settings.
Prohibitions on unfair or deceptive practices
- Adding certain social media practices affecting minors to the scope of state consumer protection laws (enforcement by the Attorney General under unfair or deceptive trade practices statutes).
- Remedies could include injunctive relief, civil penalties, and requirements to alter business practices.
Enforcement and reporting
- Enforcement authority given to the Attorney General to investigate violations and bring actions.
- Possible obligations for platforms to provide compliance reports or to respond to AG inquiries related to minors’ safety and data privacy.
Who is affected
- Primary: minors who use social media and their parents/guardians.
- Secondary: social media platforms and service providers that collect/process data or operate services accessible to minors; third‑party advertisers and data brokers; the Attorney General’s office (enforcement workload).
- Indirect: schools, child welfare advocates, and technology vendors implementing parental controls or compliance systems.
Potential impacts
- Increased compliance costs for platforms (age verification, parental notice systems, privacy controls, reporting).
- Greater transparency for parents and potential reduction in targeted advertising and certain algorithmic practices directed at minors.
- Expanded enforcement activity by the Attorney General under consumer protection laws.
- Benefits for child privacy and safety balanced against implementation challenges for small platforms or startups.
Recommendation
- Review the full engrossed bill text and House Amendment Schedule A to confirm specific obligations, definitions (e.g., age ranges for “minor”), timelines for compliance, exceptions, and the exact enforcement mechanisms and penalties.
If you would like, I can:
- Retrieve or analyze the full bill text and House amendment (if available), or
- Produce a side‑by‑side of the House amendment changes and likely compliance actions for platforms.
