HB318 SOCIAL MEDIA/MINORS | Alaska Bill

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Alaska Bill on Social Media Rules for Minors

This bill sets new rules for social media companies to protect minors in Alaska by limiting addictive design features, restricting notifications during school and sleep hours, banning targeted ads, and requiring parental consent for certain account settings.

What This Bill Does

Requires platforms to provide a default content system without addictive design features like endless scrolling or auto-play videos unless parents give verifiable consent.
Bans sending non-emergency notifications to minors between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as well as during school hours set by parents, though parents can opt out of these limits.
Prohibits platforms from showing targeted ads to known minors or collecting precise location data about them.
Mandates that social media accounts for minors are not visible to the public by default and requires verifiable parental consent for features using addictive design elements.
Requires companies to submit an annual report to the Attorney General describing their design features, safety measures, and data practices regarding minors.

Who It Names or Affects

Social media platforms that have users who are known minors living in Alaska.
Minors under 18 years of age who use social media services covered by the law.
Parents or guardians of these minors, who gain new rights to control notifications and consent to design features.

Terms To Know

Addictive Design Feature: Features like content that loads continuously as you scroll, pages with no visible end, or videos that play automatically without a click.
Known Minor: A user the platform knows or should reasonably know is under 18 based on account info or age checks.
Social Media Platform: Public websites or apps that use algorithms to recommend content, but does not include private email or direct messaging services shared only between specific people.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Only the Attorney General can enforce these rules; individuals cannot file their own lawsuits for violations of this section.
Companies do not have to share private trade secrets or proprietary algorithms in their annual reports.

Official Summary Text

SOCIAL MEDIA/MINORS
An Act relating to use of social media platforms by minors; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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HOUSE BILL NO. 318

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVES ELAM, Ruffridge, Fields

Introduced: 2/18/26
Referred: Judiciary, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to use of social media platforms by minors; and providing for an 1
effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 4
to read: 5
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 6
(1) minors in the state increasingly access online platforms that use design 7
features intended to maximize engagement and time spent on the platform; 8
(2) excessive and compulsive use of certain online platforms by minors is 9
associated with increased risks of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, diminished attention, 10
and exposure to harmful content; 11
(3) minors are uniquely vulnerable to manipulative design practices and 12
extensive data collection because of their developmental stage; 13
(4) parents and guardians have a fundamental role in directing the upbringing, 14
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health, and welfare of their children; and 1
(5) the state has a compelling interest in protecting the health, safety, and 2
privacy of minors. 3
(b) It is the intent of the legislature that this Act 4
(1) regulate commercial conduct and product design, not the content of 5
speech; 6
(2) protect minors while respecting constitutional free speech protections; 7
(3) empower parents and guardians to make informed decisions regarding 8
their children's use of online platforms; 9
(4) be narrowly tailored to identified harms; and 10
(5) align with emerging federal and state efforts to protect minors online. 11
* Sec. 2. AS 45.50.471(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 12
(58) violating AS 45.50.650 (social media for minors). 13
* Sec. 3. AS 45.50 is amended by adding new sections to read: 14
Article 5A. Social Media for Minors. 15
Sec. 45.50.650. Protections for minors using social media. (a) A social 16
media platform shall by default provide a known minor who is a resident of the state 17
with a content delivery system that does not use addictive design features. A social 18
media platform may provide a minor with a content delivery system that uses an 19
addictive design feature only after obtaining parental consent. A social media platform 20
may not use a coercive or deceptive design feature or interface to discourage a minor 21
or a parent or guardian of the minor from selecting or maintaining a content delivery 22
system without addictive design features. 23
(b) A social media platform may not send to a known minor who is a resident 24
of the state notifications during school hours designated by a parent or guardian or 25
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. A parent or guardian of the minor may 26
opt out of the notification restrictions in this subsection. The notification restrictions in 27
this subsection do not apply to notifications necessary for account security, 28
authentication, safety, or emergency purposes. 29
(c) A social media platform may not, for a known minor who is a resident of 30
the state, 31
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(1) direct targeted advertising at the minor; 1
(2) collect or retain the minor's personal data beyond the extent 2
reasonably necessary to provide the social media platform to the minor; 3
(3) collect, retain, or share precise location data of the minor; or 4
(4) make the minor's account visible to the public by default. 5
(d) Parental consent required under this section must be verifiable and use 6
reasonable and privacy-protective methods. 7
Sec. 45.50.660. Attorney general remedies and regulations. (a) In addition 8
to the remedies available to the attorney general under AS 45.50.471 - 45.50.561, a 9
court may award punitive damages if a social media platform has engaged in a pattern 10
of knowingly or recklessly violating AS 45.50.650. 11
(b) Notwithstanding AS 45.50.531 and 45.50.535, a private person may not 12
bring an action under AS 45.50.471 - 45.50.561 for a violation of AS 45.50.650. 13
(c) The attorney general may adopt regulations under AS 44.62 14
(Administrative Procedure Act) to implement AS 45.50.650 - 45.50.680, including 15
regulations establishing reasonable age assurance practices, specifying the form and 16
content of the annual report required under AS 45.50.670, establishing practices for 17
obtaining verifiable parental consent, and designating additional addictive design 18
features that encourage prolonged or compulsive use of a social media platform. 19
Sec. 45.50.670. Annual report. (a) A social media platform with users who 20
are known minors and residents of the state shall submit an annual report to the 21
attorney general that includes 22
(1) a description of design features used by the platform that may 23
affect minors; 24
(2) a description of measures taken to mitigate harm to minors; 25
(3) a summary of data collection and privacy practices relating to 26
minors; and 27
(4) a description of any internal assessments conducted regarding 28
engagement or wellbeing of minors. 29
(b) The attorney general may not require a social media platform to disclose 30
proprietary algorithms or trade secrets in the report submitted under this section. 31
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Sec. 45.50.680. Definitions. In AS 45.50.650 - 45.50.680, 1
(1) "addictive design feature" means 2
(A) content that loads continuously or as the user scrolls down 3
the page, without the need to open a separate page; 4
(B) pages with no visible or apparent end or page breaks; 5
(C) video that begins to play automatically or without the user 6
first clicking on the video or on a play button for that video; or 7
(D) any other feature that the attorney general determines by 8
regulation encourages prolonged or compulsive use of a social media platform; 9
(2) "known minor" means a user of a social media platform that the 10
social media platform knows or reasonably should know is under 18 years of age 11
based on account information or reasonable age assurance practices; 12
(3) "social media platform" 13
(A) means a public-facing website, application, or digital 14
service that allows users to create accounts or profiles for social interaction, 15
content sharing, or media consumption and uses an algorithmic system to 16
recommend, rank, or amplify content; 17
(B) does not include an online service, website, or application 18
in which the exclusive function is electronic mail or direct messaging 19
consisting of text, images, or videos shared only between the sender and the 20
recipient, without displaying or posting publicly or to other users not 21
specifically identified as recipients by the sender. 22
* Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 23
read: 24
REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE. The attorney general shall prepare a report to the 25
legislature on the regulations adopted to implement this Act. The report must include the text 26
of the adopted regulations. The attorney general shall submit the report to the senate secretary 27
and the chief clerk of the house of representatives on or before January 1, 2028, and notify the 28
legislature that the report is available. 29
* Sec. 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027. 30