Stricter rules for platforms serving minors will start in January. Parental consent will be required for algorithmic feeds and late-night notifications. Other states face similar legal battles.
Digital publishers, social platforms, and content creators targeting young audiences in New York will soon face new compliance requirements. Starting in January, a state law will require social media platforms to verify user ages and restrict algorithmic content recommendations for minors unless parents give explicit consent. The Safe for Kids Act, passed in 2024, aims to limit the use of so-called “addictive feeds” for users under 18 and curtail late-night notifications without parental approval.
Under the new regulations, platforms must not serve content to minors based on persistent personal data or device information unless parents opt in. The rules define “addictive feeds” as content delivered based on a user’s ongoing activity, device association, or previous interactions with user-generated media. However, device settings related to privacy and accessibility are excluded from this definition. Platforms are also permitted to show content to minors if it is the result of a clear, direct user request or if the user subscribes to the content, without needing parental consent.
Notifications sent to minors between midnight and 6:00 a.m. will also be restricted unless parents have approved them. These measures are designed to give parents more control over what their children see and when they receive alerts from social platforms. The regulations were published Tuesday by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, clarifying how platforms must comply with the law.
New York joins at least a dozen other states that have enacted laws to limit how social platforms interact with minors. Many of these laws have faced legal challenges from tech industry groups, with mixed outcomes. While most district courts have blocked enforcement, some appellate courts have allowed certain provisions to proceed. Last week, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked parts of a Texas law requiring platforms to filter “harmful” content for minors but upheld requirements for parental consent before serving targeted ads. In California, the Protecting Our Kids From Social Media Addiction Act (SB976) bans algorithmic recommendations to minors without parental consent, a law currently being challenged in court by Google, Meta, and TikTok.
