Utah House approves parental opt-in rules for minors’ social media accounts

The Utah House passed a third-substitute version of Senate Bill 152 on March 1, 2023, approving a package of measures that require parental opt-in and parental-control defaults for minors’ social media accounts and restrict the collection of minors’ data and advertising to minors.

Representative Kevin Tuscher, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the measure is aimed at giving parents tools to limit how long and when minors use social platforms and to curb algorithmic practices the sponsor said have contributed to worsening mental-health indicators among teens. Tuscher cited recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures he summarized during floor debate to argue for new guardrails: “nearly 3 in 5 or 57 percent of teen girls … felt persistently sad or hopeless,” he said on the floor while explaining the bill’s intent.

The bill requires platforms to provide parental access and time-limits (by amount and time of day) for minor accounts and prohibits certain data collection and advertising practices directed at minors. Sponsors said enforcement will come from two sources: a private right of action included in the bill and administrative enforcement authority vested in the Division of Consumer Protection. Representative Tuscher and other supporters told the House there is no conflict between SB 152 and House Bill 311, a separate measure that enables private lawsuits for harms caused to minors by social platforms; Tuscher said the two bills address different problems — tools for families versus a legal remedy for injury.

During questions, members pressed the sponsor on likely evasion by minors (for example, registering accounts showing residency in other states) and on whether the bill includes funding for parental education. Tuscher acknowledged both concerns, saying the measure is unlikely to be perfect and argued that even partial compliance would reduce harm by removing a large share of minors from platforms. He also said separate work in the Legislature is aimed at funding digital-wellness education for families.

Opponents cautioned the body about regulating private platforms and asked how enforcement will be handled in practice. Representative Ivory voiced concern about regulatory reach into private businesses; others asked whether the bill overlaps with HB 311. Sponsors responded they coordinated definitions and intentionally avoided overlapping enforcement approaches.

The third substitute passed the House 60–11 and will return to the Senate for further consideration. The sponsor said the bill is part of a broader three-pronged strategy — litigation, parental tools, and education — intended to reduce the harms social media companies can cause to minors.

Next steps: SB 152 goes back to the Senate for concurrence on the House substitute language; separate legislative work on funding for digital wellness and education remains underway.