• Over 45 states and Puerto Rico have at least 300 pieces of legislation pending regarding children and social media in 2025
• Represents unprecedented wave of state-level action on digital child protection
• UK implements “secure age verification” requiring facial scans, photo ID, or credit card checks from July 25
• Bipartisan momentum growing at federal level with Kids Off Social Media Act
• Creates complex patchwork of regulations that platforms must navigate

The regulatory landscape around children’s social media use has reached a critical mass in 2025, with over 45 states and Puerto Rico having at least 300 pieces of related legislation pending. This represents the most comprehensive governmental response to digital child protection concerns in US history, spanning everything from age verification requirements to algorithmic content restrictions.

The UK has already implemented its approach, requiring from July 25, 2025, that children prove their age to access harmful material on social media using “secure methods like facial scans, photo ID and credit card checks.” This makes it significantly harder for under-18s to accidentally encounter harmful content, setting a global standard for age verification technology.

At the federal level, the bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act continues gaining momentum, proposing to establish a hard minimum age of 13 for social media accounts and prohibit algorithmic recommendation systems for users under 17. The unprecedented coordination between state and federal lawmakers suggests 2025 may be the year the United States finally implements comprehensive digital child protection measures, potentially following Australia’s lead with even more aggressive restrictions.

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures – 2025 Social Media Legislation | UK Government – Changes from July 25, 2025