|
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 18, 2026) — The House Committee on Small Business and Information Technology passed legislation Wednesday that seeks to protect minors by restricting addictive features used by social media platforms.
Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, said the bill’s primary goal is to address what he described as the harmful relationship between social media and children.
House Bill 227 would restrict certain addictive social media features for children under age 15 and give parents more control over their child’s account.
The bill would require platforms to limit features designed to keep minors engaged for extended periods, such as auto-scrolling and algorithm-driven recommendations, and would rely on age-verification methods already used by companies. The goal, Lockett said, is to reduce risks to minors’ mental health.
“A brain frequently exposed to social media closely resembles a brain that is hooked on the most highly addictive drugs,” Lockett said. He added that platforms can “quickly pull children down rabbit holes of drug-related or sexual content.”
Lockett emphasized the bill does not ban minors from using social media but instead focuses on protections.
“We are not outright banning social media usage by minors,” he said. “We are trying to protect children from social media.”
Chelsey Youman, counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, clarified that the bill would not completely prohibit minors from having social media accounts. Instead, platforms using age-estimation technology would be required to disable accounts of users identified as 15 or younger until verified parental consent is provided.
Other states have passed legislation on the issue that was later struck down in court due to constitutional concerns involving First Amendment rights. But Wil Schroder, senior counsel for the Kentucky Office of Attorney General, said the office believes the HB 227 would withstand a legal challenge.
“Our attorneys have reviewed this bill and are encouraged that it is content-neutral in every way and will uphold a constitutional challenge,” Schroder said.
Opponents raised concerns about free speech and privacy.
Ari Cohn, representing the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the bill could violate constitutional protections.
“This would violate the First Amendment rights of social media users and the platforms as well,” Cohn said. “While a parent has a constitutional right to be free from government interference, that right is not constitutionally assertable against private parties. The bill would infringe on First Amendment rights of all users, including minors.”
Others urged lawmakers to consider potential privacy risks associated with age-estimation requirements in the bill, and some lawmakers also questioned how the bill would be enforced.
Rep. William Lawrence, R-Maysville, asked whether the law could be successfully enforced at the state level against national companies. Schroder said the attorney general would have jurisdiction within Kentucky and could also work with other states.
“We could enter into multistate litigation where attorneys general work together and use their voices to get changes made within the big companies,” Schroder said.
Lawrence spoke in favor of the bill, witnessing this issue first hand. He shared a personal experience involving his 16-year-old son, saying they encountered a sexual AI-generated advertisement while browsing Facebook Marketplace together.
Youman said the bill also addresses algorithm-based content.
“The bill uses the term profile-based feed, which is the idea that they are taking the child’s data and feeding them content,” Yeoman said. “This bill states that one of the addictive features not allowed to be presented to the child are feeds based on the data being collected.”
House Minority Whip Joshua Watkins, D-Louisville, asked why the bill targets social media platforms but not other services, such as streaming platforms with autoplay features.
Yeoman said broader legislation has struggled to survive court challenges, leading lawmakers to pursue a narrower approach.
Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, said that, as a grandfather of four grandchildren, he finds the issue very concerning and wants more guardrails in place.
“I have a 12-year-old grandson,” he said. “The very same things are happening, and I can see some minor changes in his behavior, so I do support this bill.”
The committee voted to advance the legislation 13-0 with two “pass” votes. It now moves to the full House for consideration.
|
