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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2392
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MURRA Y .
5643H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 407, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to social media use
by minors, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 407, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 407.3475, to read as follows:
407.3475. 1. The provi sions of this section shall be known and may be r eferr ed
2 to as the "Missouri Social Media Safety for Minors Act".
3 2. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Account holder", a natural person who crea tes, maintains, or accesses an
5 account on a social media platform;
6 (2) "Age verification", a commer cially rea sonable method of confirming the age
7 of an account applicant consistent with industry standards and privacy pr otections;
8 (3) "Minor", a person under eighteen years of age;
9 (4) "Social media platform", an online service that allows users to creat e
10 accounts, cr eate or view user -generated content, interact socially , and use
1 1 algorithmically curated feeds. The term "social media platform" does not include:
12 (a) Services primarily used for email, dir ect messaging, or business
1 3 collaboration;
14 (b) Educational platforms used by schools; and
15 (c) Online video gaming services with integrated chat wher e social interaction is
16 incidental;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (5) "V erified pare nt or guardian", a person with legal custody of a minor ,
18 verified thr ough the pr ocedur es req uired under this section.
19 3. No social media platform shall permit a person under fourteen years of age to
20 cr eate or maintain an account.
21 4. A minor fourteen years of age and under sixteen years of age may hold an
22 account only with the verified consent of a pare nt or legal guardian.
23 5. Social media platforms may allow account cr eation but shall pr ovide pare nts
24 or guardians the option to:
25 (1) Access and revie w account activity;
26 (2) Request deletion of the minor's account; and
27 (3) Limit messaging featur es between the minor and unverified adult accounts.
28 6. A social media platform shall implement a secure age-verification pro cess for
29 all Missouri users prior to account creat ion.
30 7. Age-verification data shall not be ret ained by the social media platform
31 beyond what is strictly necessary for compliance with the pr ovisions of this section.
32 8. Social media platforms shall use age verification techniques that:
33 (1) Do not r equir e minors to pr ovide government-issued identification direc tly to
34 the social media platform;
35 (2) Pr otect user privacy; and
36 (3) Ar e independently certifiable as compliant with standards for data
37 minimization and security .
38 9. A social media platform shall immediately terminate any account determined
39 to belong to a person under fourteen years of age.
40 10. A verified par ent or guardian may requ est deletion of a minor's account and
41 the social media platform shall comply within ten business days of such req uest. Social
42 media platforms shall prov ide a simple, accessible pr ocess for paren ts or guardians to
43 make such requ ests.
44 1 1. A social media platform shall not:
45 (1) Use addictive or manipulative design featur es specifically targeting minors,
46 including infinite-scro ll mechanisms or auto-playing content without time-limit
4 7 contr ols;
48 (2) Permit dir ect messaging fr om adults to minors unless the adult is a verified
49 contact; or
50 (3) Serve targeted advertising to minors based on personal data or behavioral
51 pr ofiling.
52 12. A violation of this section constitutes an unlawful mer chandising practice
53 under chapter 407. The attorney general may enforc e the pr ovisions of this section and
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54 seek civil penalties of up to fifty thousand dollars per violation, plus injunctive reli ef and
55 attorney fees. A par ent or legal guardian of a minor harmed by a violation may bring a
56 civil action for damages.
✔
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