HB 318: "An Act relating to use of social media platforms by minors; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 318 01 "An Act relating to use of social media platforms by minors; and providing for an 02 effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) minors in the state increasingly access online platforms that use design 08 features intended to maximize engagement and time spent on the platform; 09 (2) excessive and compulsive use of certain online platforms by minors is 10 associated with increased risks of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, diminished attention, 11 and exposure to harmful content; 12 (3) minors are uniquely vulnerable to manipulative design practices and 13 extensive data collection because of their developmental stage; 14 (4) parents and guardians have a fundamental role in directing the upbringing,
01 health, and welfare of their children; and 02 (5) the state has a compelling interest in protecting the health, safety, and 03 privacy of minors. 04 (b) It is the intent of the legislature that this Act 05 (1) regulate commercial conduct and product design, not the content of 06 speech; 07 (2) protect minors while respecting constitutional free speech protections; 08 (3) empower parents and guardians to make informed decisions regarding 09 their children's use of online platforms; 10 (4) be narrowly tailored to identified harms; and 11 (5) align with emerging federal and state efforts to protect minors online. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 13 (58) violating AS 45.50.650 (social media for minors). 14 * Sec. 3. AS 45.50 is amended by adding new sections to read: 15 Article 5A. Social Media for Minors. 16 Sec. 45.50.650. Protections for minors using social media. (a) A social 17 media platform shall by default provide a known minor who is a resident of the state 18 with a content delivery system that does not use addictive design features. A social 19 media platform may provide a minor with a content delivery system that uses an 20 addictive design feature only after obtaining parental consent. A social media platform 21 may not use a coercive or deceptive design feature or interface to discourage a minor 22 or a parent or guardian of the minor from selecting or maintaining a content delivery 23 system without addictive design features. 24 (b) A social media platform may not send to a known minor who is a resident 25 of the state notifications during school hours designated by a parent or guardian or 26 between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. A parent or guardian of the minor may 27 opt out of the notification restrictions in this subsection. The notification restrictions in 28 this subsection do not apply to notifications necessary for account security, 29 authentication, safety, or emergency purposes. 30 (c) A social media platform may not, for a known minor who is a resident of 31 the state,
01 (1) direct targeted advertising at the minor; 02 (2) collect or retain the minor's personal data beyond the extent 03 reasonably necessary to provide the social media platform to the minor; 04 (3) collect, retain, or share precise location data of the minor; or 05 (4) make the minor's account visible to the public by default. 06 (d) Parental consent required under this section must be verifiable and use 07 reasonable and privacy-protective methods. 08 Sec. 45.50.660. Attorney general remedies and regulations. (a) In addition 09 to the remedies available to the attorney general under AS 45.50.471 - 45.50.561, a 10 court may award punitive damages if a social media platform has engaged in a pattern 11 of knowingly or recklessly violating AS 45.50.650. 12 (b) Notwithstanding AS 45.50.531 and 45.50.535, a private person may not 13 bring an action under AS 45.50.471 - 45.50.561 for a violation of AS 45.50.650. 14 (c) The attorney general may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 15 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement AS 45.50.650 - 45.50.680, including 16 regulations establishing reasonable age assurance practices, specifying the form and 17 content of the annual report required under AS 45.50.670, establishing practices for 18 obtaining verifiable parental consent, and designating additional addictive design 19 features that encourage prolonged or compulsive use of a social media platform. 20 Sec. 45.50.670. Annual report. (a) A social media platform with users who 21 are known minors and residents of the state shall submit an annual report to the 22 attorney general that includes 23 (1) a description of design features used by the platform that may 24 affect minors; 25 (2) a description of measures taken to mitigate harm to minors; 26 (3) a summary of data collection and privacy practices relating to 27 minors; and 28 (4) a description of any internal assessments conducted regarding 29 engagement or wellbeing of minors. 30 (b) The attorney general may not require a social media platform to disclose 31 proprietary algorithms or trade secrets in the report submitted under this section.
01 Sec. 45.50.680. Definitions. In AS 45.50.650 - 45.50.680, 02 (1) "addictive design feature" means 03 (A) content that loads continuously or as the user scrolls down 04 the page, without the need to open a separate page; 05 (B) pages with no visible or apparent end or page breaks; 06 (C) video that begins to play automatically or without the user 07 first clicking on the video or on a play button for that video; or 08 (D) any other feature that the attorney general determines by 09 regulation encourages prolonged or compulsive use of a social media platform; 10 (2) "known minor" means a user of a social media platform that the 11 social media platform knows or reasonably should know is under 18 years of age 12 based on account information or reasonable age assurance practices; 13 (3) "social media platform" 14 (A) means a public-facing website, application, or digital 15 service that allows users to create accounts or profiles for social interaction, 16 content sharing, or media consumption and uses an algorithmic system to 17 recommend, rank, or amplify content; 18 (B) does not include an online service, website, or application 19 in which the exclusive function is electronic mail or direct messaging 20 consisting of text, images, or videos shared only between the sender and the 21 recipient, without displaying or posting publicly or to other users not 22 specifically identified as recipients by the sender. 23 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE. The attorney general shall prepare a report to the 26 legislature on the regulations adopted to implement this Act. The report must include the text 27 of the adopted regulations. The attorney general shall submit the report to the senate secretary 28 and the chief clerk of the house of representatives on or before January 1, 2028, and notify the 29 legislature that the report is available. 30 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027.