Online Age Verification Rules: New York’s Detailed Plans

Key Highlights

• Legislation: New York has introduced laws aimed at protecting minors online, including the SAFE for Kids Act.
• Age Verification: The law mandates online platforms to verify users’ ages before accessing certain features.
• Parental Consent: Minors need parental permission to access curated feeds or receive notifications at night.
• Public Input: The public can comment on the proposed rules until December 1, 2024.

Last year, New York joined the wave of states passing legislation aimed at protecting minors using the Internet, particularly social media. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act in June 2024. Today, the state’s Attorney General Letitia James released more specifics about what the SAFE for Kids Act will entail in practice. Public comment is open until December 1 and the rules must be finalized within a year from that date.

In particular, the rule will require online platforms to confirm the ages of users before showing them algorithmically-curated feeds or sending them notifications at night. The Attorney General’s approach allows sites to choose their method of age verification, as long as the approach “is shown to be effective and protects users’ data.” New York will also require an age confirmation method that does not rely on having a government-issued ID.

There is also a component of parental consent in the SAFE for Kids Act. Minors must request a social media network to seek parental permission for accessing algorithmic feeds or receiving nighttime notifications. If parental consent is not granted, the platforms may not block minors from generally accessing their service or content. Both the minor and their parent may revoke their consent at any time.

“The proposed rules released by my office today will help us tackle the youth mental health crisis and make social media safer for kids and families,” James said in the announcement. “This is an issue that affects all of us, and I encourage parents, educators, young people, industry groups, and others to review the proposed rules and submit a comment during the public comment period.”