HB 25‑1287 — Social Media Tools for Minor Users & Parents
Status: Introduced Feb 26, 2025; Referred to House Health & Human Services (amended) Apr 2, 2025; Referred to Appropriations; House Committee on Appropriations lay over unamended — amendment(s) failed (May 13, 2025).
Sponsors: Rep. Byron Pelton; Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet; Rep. Jarvis Caldwell; Rep. Meghan Lukens
Note: The full bill text/section-by-section content was not provided. The summary below states the bill’s known status and title, then outlines likely objectives and typical provisions associated with bills having this title. Where language is inferential or speculative it is noted.
Purpose (based on title)
The bill, titled “Social Media Tools for Minor Users & Parents,” appears intended to require or encourage social media companies to provide tools, settings, or safeguards specifically designed for minor users and their parents or guardians. Typical goals for such legislation are to improve online safety, parental oversight, and age-appropriate privacy protections.
Likely key topics (inferred; confirm with bill text)
Because the bill text was not available, the following list describes common provisions found in legislation with this subject. These are possibilities, not confirmed contents of HB 25‑1287:
- Age verification or account designation to identify minor users and apply different defaults.
- Mandatory parental consent or parental control features for account creation and management of minors’ accounts.
- Default privacy settings set to the most restrictive option for accounts identified as belonging to minors.
- Tools for parents to view, restrict, or manage content, screen time, friend/follower lists, and direct messaging for minor accounts.
- Requirements for platforms to provide clear, accessible information to parents about available controls and risks.
- Restrictions on targeted advertising to minors or limits on data collection/retention for minor accounts.
- Reporting, transparency, and compliance mechanisms (e.g., notices, audits, or enforcement provisions and penalties for noncompliance).
- Education or outreach requirements for schools/parents about safe social media use.
Who would be affected
- Social media and interactive online service providers operating in the state — potential compliance obligations.
- Minors (users under the legal age defined in the bill, commonly under 18) — changes to account defaults, privacy, and functionality.
- Parents and legal guardians — access to control tools and information.
- State agencies (if enforcement or oversight is assigned) — administrative workload and possible budgetary impact.
Potential impacts
- Safety: Could increase protections and parental oversight for minors online.
- Privacy: May strengthen default privacy and limit data collection/targeted advertising for minors.
- Compliance costs: Platforms could face engineering, policy, and legal costs to implement new controls, age-verification systems, or reporting.
- Enforcement: If penalties or enforcement mechanisms are included, state oversight costs may rise; private-right-of-action provisions would affect litigation exposure.
Procedural / timeline notes
- Introduced in the House on Feb 26, 2025; assigned to Health & Human Services.
- Referred, with amendments, to Appropriations on Apr 2, 2025.
- On May 13, 2025 the House Appropriations Committee laid the bill over unamended; amendments offered at that hearing failed.
- Next steps (if moving forward): further action by the Appropriations Committee, potential floor votes in the House, and, if passed, transmission to the Senate.
Where to find the full text and related materials
To review the bill’s exact language, fiscal note, and amendment history, consult the Colorado General Assembly website or the legislative clerk’s office. If you’d like, I can retrieve the bill text and create a detailed, section-by-section summary and analysis.
