New York outlines age checks and parental consent for minors under the SAFE for Kids Act

New York’s office of Attorney General on Tuesday (Sept 16) released draft rules requiring social media companies to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent before minors can access algorithmic feeds or receive late-night notifications. 

These news rules by New York’s Office of the Attorney General have been issued as part of the SAFE (Stop Addictive Feed Exploitation) for Kids Act. The act, signed in June 2024, prohibits platforms from showing addictive recommendation feeds to users under 18 without parental approval. It also restricts apps from sending notifications linked to such feeds to minors from 12a.m. to 6 a.m., unless guardians’ consent is given.

Under the proposed regulations, platforms must adopt commercially reasonable and technically feasible methods to determine whether a user is a minor. Acceptable methods include government-issued identification, facial or video verification, or checks linked to phone or email accounts, according to the New York attorney general’s office.

Operators must provide at least one alternative to ID-based verification, as users may not be comfortable sharing their ID with Social media platforms. Data collected for age or consent checks must only be used for that purpose and should be deleted immediately after, the draft rules state.

If parental consent is not verified, platforms are mandated to default minors to a chronological feed, showing posts in the order they were published, and block overnight notifications. Companies are barred from degrading service quality, raising prices, or denying access to minors who do not provide consent.

The rules apply to operators that host user-generated content and rely on recommendation algorithms as a significant part of their service. Services where 20% or more of user activity comes from algorithmic feeds may fall under the law, according to the filing. This would cover major platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and similar services.

The attorney general’s office issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Tuesday, opening a public comment period before the rules are finalized. Platforms will have 180 days after final adoption to comply.

The SAFE for Kids Act makes New York the first U.S. state to require parental approval for algorithmic feeds. Its passage adds to growing national and international debates over children’s online safety and whether governments should regulate how social media platforms design and deliver content.