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HB173 INTRODUCED
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HB173
XDIKS7Z-1
By Representative Robbins
RFD: Children and Senior Advocacy
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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XDIKS7Z-1 01/12/2026 OW (L)cr 2025-2667
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First Read: 13-Jan-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, online services, products,
and features accessible to children are not required to
protect children's safety and may use privacy-invasive
design features on children.
This bill would require covered platform
operators to restrict access to portions of platforms
that recommend, select, or prioritize for display media
items based on information associated with the covered
user or their device, unless it is determined that the
covered user is not a minor or if parental consent is
obtained.
This bill would limit the hours that covered
operators may send notifications to covered minors.
This bill would require covered operators to use
default platform settings that restrict covered minors
from accessing the platform, receiving notifications,
and engaging on the platform during certain time
periods.
This bill would require all covered operators to
establish and maintain a mechanism that permits parents
or legal guardians to require more stringent settings
on covered platforms.
This bill would require covered operators to
annually disclose certain data for the previous
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annually disclose certain data for the previous
calendar year.
This bill would also make a violation of its
provisions a violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices
Act.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to consumer protection; to require covered
platform operators to restrict access to certain portions of
platforms unless the age of the user is determined or parental
consent is obtained; to limit the hours covered operators may
send notifications to covered minors; to require covered
operators to use default platform settings on all covered
platforms that limit covered minors' access, notifications,
and engagement during certain hours; to require covered
operators to establish and maintain a mechanism permitting
parents and legal guardians to require more stringent settings
on covered platforms; to require covered operators to annually
disclose certain data; and to make a violation of its
provisions a violation of the Alabama Deceptive Trade
Practices Act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) COVERED MINOR. Any covered user who is younger than
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(1) COVERED MINOR. Any covered user who is younger than
18 years of age.
(2) COVERED OPERATOR. Any operator who operates or
provides a covered platform. This does not include the federal
government or any state or local government or state or local
subdivision thereof.
(3) COVERED PLATFORM. Any platform that, as a
significant part of the services offered, recommends, selects,
or prioritizes for display, either concurrently or
sequentially, media items generated or shared on a platform by
users of the platform. The term does not include any platform
that primarily facilitates the sale of goods or is used by and
under the direction of an educational entity, including a
learning management system or a student engagement program.
(4) COVERED USER. Any user of a covered platform in
this state who is not acting as the covered operator, or as an
agent or affiliate of the covered operator, of the covered
platform.
(5) MEDIA ITEM. Any text, image, or video.
(6) OPERATOR. Any individual, corporation, limited
liability company, partnership, limited partnership, limited
liability partnership, association, joint stock company,
unincorporated organization, or other legal entity that
operates or provides a platform.
(7) PLATFORM. Any Internet website, online service,
online application, mobile application, or social media
platform, or any portion thereof.
(b)(1) No covered operator of a covered platform shall
allow a covered user to access any portion of the covered
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allow a covered user to access any portion of the covered
platform that recommends, selects, or prioritizes for display,
either concurrently or sequentially, media items generated or
shared by users of the covered platform if the recommendation,
selection, or prioritization is based, in whole or in part, on
any information associated with the covered user or the
covered user's device, unless any of the following occur:
a.1. The covered operator has used commercially
reasonable and technically feasible methods to determine that
the covered user is not a covered minor; or
2. If the covered user is a covered minor, the covered
operator has obtained verifiable consent from the covered
minor's parent or legal guardian to recommend, select, or
prioritize media items for such covered minor in the manner
prescribed by this section.
b. The recommendation, selection, or prioritization is
based on information that is not persistently associated with
the covered user or the covered user's device and does not
concern the covered user's previous interactions with media
items generated or shared by other users of the covered
platform.
c. The recommendation, selection, or prioritization is
based on privacy or accessibility settings selected by the
covered user or technical information concerning the covered
user's device.
d. The covered user has expressly and unambiguously
requested that any specific media item, media items from a
specific author, creator, or poster to whom the covered user
has subscribed, or media items shared by users to a specific
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has subscribed, or media items shared by users to a specific
page or group to which the covered user has subscribed be
displayed, blocked, prioritized, or deprioritized.
e. The recommended, selected, or prioritized media item
is a direct and private communication.
f. The media item is recommended, selected, or
prioritized exclusively in response to a specific search
inquiry made by the covered user.
g. The media item is recommended, selected, or
prioritized for display exclusively because the media item
immediately follows any other media item in a preexisting
sequence and is from the same author, creator, poster, or
source.
h. The recommendation, selection, or prioritization is
necessary to comply with any other provision of this section.
(2) A covered operator shall treat a covered user as a
covered minor if the covered operator obtains actual knowledge
that the covered user is a covered minor. A covered operator
that has used commercially reasonable and technically feasible
methods to determine a covered user's age and cannot determine
whether the covered user is a covered minor shall presume that
such covered user is not a covered minor for the purposes of
this subsection.
(3)a. Information collected for the purpose of
determining a covered user's age under this subsection shall
not be used for any other purpose, and such information shall
be deleted immediately after an attempt is made to determine
the covered user's age unless use or retention is necessary to
comply with any federal law or regulation or any other law or
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comply with any federal law or regulation or any other law or
regulation of this state.
b. Information collected for the purpose of obtaining
verifiable consent from a covered minor's parent or legal
guardian shall not be used for any other purpose, and the
information shall be deleted immediately after an attempt is
made to determine the covered user's age unless use or
retention is necessary to comply with any federal law or
regulation or any other law or regulation of this state.
(4) No covered operator shall withhold or degrade, or
reduce the quality or increase the price of, any product,
service, or feature due to the prohibition against
recommending, selecting, or prioritizing media items in the
manner set forth in subdivision (b)(1), unless the
withholding, degradation, reduction, or increase is necessary
for the covered operator to comply with the provisions of this
subsection.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
prohibit any covered operator from taking any action to
restrict access to, or the availability of, any media item
that the covered operator in good faith considers to be
obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent,
harassing, or otherwise objectionable, regardless of whether
such media item is protected under the Constitution of Alabama
of 2022, or the Constitution of the United States.
(c)(1) No covered operator shall send any notification
to a covered minor concerning any recommendation, selection,
or prioritization made in the manner set forth in subdivision
(b)(1) unless:
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(b)(1) unless:
a. The notification is sent to the covered minor during
the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Central Standard
Time; or
b. The covered operator has obtained verifiable consent
from the covered minor's parent or legal guardian to send
notifications to the covered minor outside of the time frame
set forth in paragraph a.
(2) Unless otherwise required by a covered minor's
verified parent or legal guardian, covered operators shall do
all of the following as a default setting for the covered
operator's covered platform:
a. Prevent the covered minor from accessing or
receiving any notification described in subdivision (c)(1)
outside of the time frame set forth in paragraph (c)(1)a.
b. Limit the covered minor's access to any portion of
the covered operator's covered platform which recommends,
selects, or prioritizes media items in the manner set forth in
subdivision (b)(1) to a maximum period of one hour per day.
c. Set the covered minor's covered platform account to
a mode that exclusively allows users to whom the covered minor
is connected to view or respond to content posted by the
covered minor.
(3) Covered operators shall also establish and maintain
a mechanism by which a covered minor's verified parent or
legal guardian may require the covered operator to do the
following:
a. Prevent the covered minor from accessing or
receiving any notification described in subdivision (1)
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receiving any notification described in subdivision (1)
outside of a time frame specified by the parent or legal
guardian.
b. Limit the covered minor's access to any portion of
such covered operator's covered platform that recommends,
selects, or prioritizes media items in the manner set forth in
subdivision (b)(1) to a maximum daily period specified by the
parent or legal guardian.
c. Set the covered minor's covered platform account to
a mode that exclusively allows users to whom the covered minor
is connected to view or respond to content posted by the
covered minor.
(d) Not later than March 1, 2028, and annually
thereafter, each covered operator shall publicly disclose, in
a form and manner specified by the Attorney General, all of
the following information for the preceding calendar year:
(1) The total number of covered users who used the
covered operator's covered platform during the year.
(2) The portion of the total number of covered users
who used the covered operator's covered platform during the
year for whom the covered operator obtained verifiable consent
from a parent or legal guardian.
(3) The portion of the total number of covered users
who used the covered operator's covered platform for whom the
default settings set forth in subdivision (c)(2) were enabled,
and the portion of the total number of covered users for whom
such default settings were not enabled.
(4) The average amount of time per day that covered
users used the covered operator's covered platform, broken
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users used the covered operator's covered platform, broken
down by user age and hour of day.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to do
any of the following:
(1) Require a covered operator to provide a covered
minor's parent or legal guardian with access to, or control
over, the covered minor's covered platform account or any data
associated therewith, unless provision of such access or
control is specifically required by this section.
(2) Impose liability for any commercial activity or
action by a covered operator subject to 15 U.S.C. § 6501 which
is inconsistent with the manner in which the commercial
activity or action is treated under 15 U.S.C. § 6502.
(f) A violation of this section shall be deemed a
violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, pursuant to
Chapter 19 of Title 8, Code of Alabama 1975.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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