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AB963: Bill Text
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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-5856/1
ARG:emw&wlj
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 963
January 29, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives
Goeben
,
Steffen
,
Franklin
,
Brill
,
Dittrich
,
O'Connor
,
Kreibich
,
Piwowarczyk
,
Behnke
,
Armstrong
,
Murphy
and
Knodl
, cosponsored by Senator
Jacque
. Referred to Committee on Children and Families.
AB963,1,2
1
An Act
to create
100.72 of the statutes;
relating to:
social media accounts for
2
minors and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill imposes on social media platforms with at least $1 billion in annual revenue various requirements relating to residents of this state who are less than 18 years of age and not emancipated (minors). These social media platforms must use reasonable means and efforts to estimate the age of an account holder to determine if the account holder is a minor. The bill includes presumptions based on the social media platform’s level of confidence that the account holder is at least 18 years old. These age-estimation requirements do not apply if the account has been held continuously for at least seven years. The social media platform must derive age estimates based on information collected and retained by it in the ordinary course of operation, subject to the limitations described below, and the social media platform is not required to request, collect, or retain information from or about an account holder. However, a social media platform must require that an applicant for an account provide the applicant’s date of birth. If the applicant is a minor, the social media platform may not create or maintain an account for the minor, or change the terms and conditions of the account, unless the social media platform first obtains verifiable parental consent, which is defined in a manner similar to the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
The bill imposes various requirements and restrictions on an account for a minor, including the following:
1. A social media platform must set the default privacy settings for a minor’s account at the most private levels and may not change these settings unless it obtains verifiable parental consent to do so. To obtain verifiable parental consent, the social media platform must provide an option for the parent to receive a separate password allowing the parent to monitor and set controls on the minor’s account.
2. A social media platform may not present specified addictive features in the display or feed of a minor, including infinite scrolling; a profile-based feed; push notifications; autoplay video; displaying the number of “likes,” shares, or repostings of the minor’s posted content; or any award or recognition related to the minor’s number of followers or postings or other metrics of usage or performance.
3. A social media platform must prevent profile-based, paid commercial advertising in the display or feed of a minor.
4. A social media platform must terminate an account if it concludes, or obtains information from which it reasonably should conclude, that the account holder is a minor, unless the social media platform obtains verifiable parental consent for the account. A social media platform must terminate an account of a minor within seven days of receiving a request for termination from the minor or within 14 days of receiving a request for termination from the minor’s parent. The social media platform must also provide clear, simple, and easy-to-locate means for a minor’s parent to request termination of a minor’s account.
The bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to investigate alleged violations of the bill’s provisions. DATCP, or the Department of Justice or a district attorney in consultation with DATCP, may bring an action to enforce the provisions of the bill and may seek a civil forfeiture of $100 per violation, injunctive relief, an order to pay damages to an injured minor or the minor’s parent, disgorgement of money received by the social media platform, attorney fees, and other costs of investigation and prosecution. In addition, a minor, or the minor’s parent, aggrieved by a negligent, reckless, or knowing violation may bring a civil action against the social media platform. If the violation was reckless or knowing, the minor or parent may recover damages of $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, for each violation. If the violation was part of a pattern of reckless or knowing conduct, the court may award punitive damages. A prevailing minor or parent may also recover court costs and reasonable attorney fees. However, a social media platform is not liable to a minor or parent for a violation if it used reasonable means and efforts to comply with the requirements of the bill. In addition, if a social media platform permits a minor to open or continue an account without verifiable parental consent, any contract pertaining to the account is void and unenforceable.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB963,1
1
Section
1
.
100.72 of the statutes is created to read:
AB963,3,2
1
100.72
Social media accounts for minors.
(1)
Definitions.
In this
2
section:
AB963,3,7
3
(a) “Account holder” means an individual who is a resident of this state and
4
who has an account or profile with a covered social media platform that is
5
associated by the covered social media platform with a unique identifier, during any
6
period in which the covered social media platform knows or should reasonably know
7
the individual is physically located in this state.
AB963,3,11
8
(b) “Covered social media platform” means a social media platform and any
9
parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the social media platform that together, in
10
aggregate worldwide, generated at least $1,000,000,000 in annual gross revenue in
11
at least one of the immediately preceding 3 years.
AB963,3,12
12
(c) “Infinite scrolling” means any of the following:
AB963,3,14
13
1. Continuously loading content, or content that loads as the account holder
14
scrolls down the page without the need to open a separate page.
AB963,3,16
15
2. Seamless content, or the use of pages with no visible or apparent end or
16
page breaks.
AB963,3,18
17
(d) “Minor” means a resident of this state who is less than 18 years of age,
18
excluding an emancipated minor, as defined in s. 48.375 (2) (e).
AB963,3,19
19
(e) “Parent” includes any legal guardian of a minor.
AB963,3,21
20
(f) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “personal information” means any of the
21
following:
AB963,3,23
22
a. Information about an account holder collected online that comprises
23
personal information, as defined in
15 USC 6501
(8).
AB963,4,2
24
b. Any record of or derived from online activity or history, search history, or
1
online communications of an account holder with respect to any website,
2
application, or social media platform.
AB963,4,5
3
c. Any photograph or biometric information that is used or could reasonably
4
be used to identify the account holder, including fingerprints, voice prints, iris or
5
retina images, facial templates, and gait imagery or metrics.
AB963,4,7
6
d. Any geolocation information associated with an account holder or with a
7
device of an account holder.
AB963,4,8
8
2. “Personal information” does not include any of the following:
AB963,4,10
9
a. An express search term, request, or selection submitted by the account
10
holder during the current session on the covered social media platform.
AB963,4,12
11
b. An identifier used solely for the purpose of directing personal
12
communications to or from the account holder.
AB963,4,14
13
c. Information that comprises account-holder-selected or parent-selected
14
settings relating to privacy, accessibility, or blocking of age-inappropriate content.
AB963,4,15
15
d. Technical information concerning the account holder’s device.
AB963,4,19
16
(g) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “profile-based feed” means a feed in
17
which the material presented has been selected or prioritized by a covered social
18
media platform for display to an account holder based in whole or in part on
19
personal information of that account holder.
AB963,4,20
20
2. “Profile-based feed” does not include any of the following:
AB963,5,2
21
a. A feed that includes content created by a 3rd party that is displayed to the
22
account holder because the account holder has taken an affirmative step to select
23
the 3rd-party’s content for inclusion in the feed, such as by “following,” “friending,”
24
or engaging in a similar action in relation to the 3rd party, which content is not
1
otherwise selected or prioritized for display to the account holder based on personal
2
information.
AB963,5,6
3
b. A feed from which is excluded content based on information about or any
4
estimate of the age of the account holder if the content is obscene as to minors or if
5
the content is, by policy of the covered social media platform, not suitable for
6
presentation to minors.
AB963,5,11
7
(h) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “push notification” means an automatic
8
electronic message, whether audible, visual, or tactile, designed to call the attention
9
of the account holder to newly posted content, or to user responses to content posted
10
by the account holder, or to inform the account holder about other specific activities
11
or events related to the account holder’s account.
AB963,5,14
12
2. “Push notification” does not include a notification alerting the account
13
holder of incoming calls, text messages, email messages, or similar messages sent
14
by human contacts and delivered by means of any application.
AB963,5,18
15
(i) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “social media platform” means a website
16
or application that is open to the public and that allows a user to create an account
17
that enables the user to communicate with other users for the primary purpose of
18
posting and viewing information, comments, messages, images, or videos.
AB963,5,19
19
2. “Social media platform” does not include any of the following:
AB963,5,20
20
a. A broadband Internet access service, as defined in
47 CFR 8.1 (b)
.
AB963,6,2
21
b. An online service, website, or application the exclusive function of which is
22
the support of communications, including emailing or direct messaging of text,
23
images, or videos, between only the sender and recipients specifically identified by
1
the sender, without displaying or posting the communications publicly or to other
2
users not specifically identified as the recipients by the sender.
AB963,6,4
3
c. An online service, website, or application the content of which consists
4
primarily of information or content that is not user-generated.
AB963,6,12
5
(j) “Verifiable parental consent” means any reasonable effort, taking into
6
consideration available technology, to ensure that a parent of a minor receives
7
notice of the covered social media platform’s personal information collection, use,
8
and disclosure practices and authorizes the collection, use, and disclosure, as
9
applicable, of personal information and the subsequent use of that information
10
before that information is collected from the minor. “Verifiable parental consent”
11
includes a request for authorization for future collection, use, and disclosure of a
12
minor’s personal information described in a notice to the minor’s parent.
AB963,6,19
13
(2)
Age estimation and identification of minors.
(a) 1. No later than 14
14
days after the date on which an account holder has been on a covered social media
15
platform for at least 25 hours within a 6-month period, the covered social media
16
platform shall use reasonable means and reasonable efforts, taking into
17
consideration available technology and the data in the possession of the covered
18
social media platform, to estimate the age of the account holder for purposes of
19
subds. 2. and 3.
AB963,6,23
20
2. If the covered social media platform, in the estimate under subd. 1., is able
21
to conclude with 80 percent confidence that the account holder is at least 18 years of
22
age, the covered social media platform may treat the account holder as not a minor
23
for purposes of this section.
AB963,7,3
24
3. If the covered social media platform, in the estimate under subd. 1., is not
1
able to conclude with 80 percent confidence that the account holder is at least 18
2
years of age, the covered social media platform shall treat the account holder as a
3
minor for purposes of this section.
AB963,7,8
4
(b) 1. No later than 14 days after the date on which an account holder has
5
been on a covered social media platform for at least 50 hours within a 6-month
6
period, the covered social media platform shall use reasonable means and
7
reasonable efforts to revise its estimate of the age of the account holder for purposes
8
of subds. 2. and 3.
AB963,7,12
9
2. If the covered social media platform, in the revised estimate under subd. 1.,
10
is able to conclude with 90 percent confidence that the account holder is at least 18
11
years of age, the covered social media platform may treat the account holder as not
12
a minor for purposes of this section.
AB963,7,16
13
3. If the covered social media platform, in the revised estimate under subd. 1.,
14
is not able to conclude with 90 percent confidence that the account holder is at least
15
18 years of age, the covered social media platform shall treat the account holder as
16
a minor for purposes of this section.
AB963,7,22
17
(c) A covered social media platform shall update its estimate of the age of each
18
account holder after every additional 100 hours spent by the account holder on the
19
covered social media platform or as often as the covered social media platform
20
applies any form of data analytics or artificial intelligence to update its estimate of
21
any other demographic characteristic of the account holder, whichever period is
22
shorter.
AB963,8,4
23
(d) 1. A covered social media platform shall derive the age estimates required
24
under this subsection based on information collected and retained by the covered
1
social media platform in the ordinary course of operation of the covered social media
2
platform. Nothing in this subsection creates a duty on the part of a covered social
3
media platform to request, collect, or retain any information from or about an
4
account holder.
AB963,8,8
5
2. A covered social media platform has no obligation under this subsection to
6
estimate the age of an account holder who has had an account with the covered
7
social media platform continuously for at least 7 years nor to take any action with
8
respect to such an account.
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