AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Senate just avanzado House Bill 186 out of committee, a dramatic piece of legislation that would place unprecedented limits on how young people under 18 interact with the internet and social media platforms.
“At the same time the Texas legislature is greenlighting legislation to force age verification on all app downloads, as well as adding health warning labels to digital content, there’s also this broader effort to turn off the lights on all Texas minors using social media,” STEPHEN KENT, Media Director of Centro de elección del consumidor, said in response to the news out of the Texas statehouse.
“HB 186 follows a trend we’ve seen across the country aimed at limiting parental choice and authority in their kids’ lives by outright banning youths from apps that primarily facilitate communication and the sharing of information. It’s vague and unproductive.”
Championed by Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), HB 186 aims to block and remove individuals under 18 from creating accounts on popular platforms like TikTok, Twitter (X), Instagram, and Snapchat, but actually creates the possibility of picking winners and losers in social media.
Read more on social media regulation vs parental control (AOL)
“This trend in legislation has popped up all over the country where lawmakers try to define ‘social media’ in their bills, and they create legal escape hatches for some more unique social media platforms that don’t perfectly fit the bill. I could see TikTok, YouTube, and YouTube Kids making a strong case that this law doesn’t apply to their platform,” added Kent.
If signed into law, the new restrictions would go into effect by April 2026, giving companies a limited window to overhaul their account verification processes and comply with sweeping new state mandates that don’t exist beyond Texas borders.
Stephen Kent concluyó: “VPN services will have a field day with new users if this kind of legislation were to pass, which is highly unlikely, by the way, to withstand a legal challenge like those that arose in Florida and Ohio. A better path is to let parents and guardians steer the social media presence and habits of their children. Trust parents and give them a choice in how they raise children in this digital age.”
O PREGUNTAS DE MEDIOS O ENTREVISTAS CONTACTO:
Esteban Kent
Director de medios, Consumer Choice Center
stephen@consumerchoicecenter.org
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El Consumer Choice Center es un grupo independiente y no partidista de defensa de los derechos de los consumidores que defiende los beneficios de la libertad de elección, la innovación y la abundancia en la vida cotidiana de los consumidores en más de 100 países. Seguimos de cerca las tendencias regulatorias en Washington, Bruselas, Ottawa, Brasilia, Londres y Ginebra. www.consumerchoicecenter.org
