- A Texas bill (HB 186) aiming to ban social media accounts for users under 18 stalled in the state Senate after missing a critical June 2 deadline, despite earlier bipartisan House approval (116-25).
- The bill would have required age verification for account creation, mandated deletion of minors' accounts upon parental request within 10 days and barred data collection from deleted accounts.
- It treated social media sign-ups as contractual agreements, arguing that minors need parental consent. Non-compliant companies faced lawsuits under Texas consumer protection laws.
- Republican Rep. Jared Patterson called its failure his "biggest disappointment," citing mental health risks and vowing to reintroduce the bill in 2027.
- Texas's broader ban faced last-minute Senate resistance despite strong initial support.
A proposed Texas law that would have banned anyone under 18 from creating or maintaining social media accounts stalled in the state Senate this week after lawmakers failed to vote on it before a critical deadline.
House Bill 186, filed by State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-District 106), sought to prohibit minors from signing up for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat by requiring age verification. The bill had previously passed the GOP-controlled Texas House with overwhelming bipartisan support (116-25) in April but faced last-minute resistance in the Senate as the legislative session neared its end. (Related: Texas congressman wants social media firms held accountable for biased censorship of speech.)
Under the proposed law, social media companies would have been required to verify users' ages before allowing account creation and to delete accounts belonging to minors upon a parent or guardian's request within 10 days. This would also have had to stop collecting personal data from deleted accounts.
The bill framed social media account creation as a contractual agreement, arguing that minors should not be allowed to enter into such agreements without parental oversight. Non-compliance would have subjected companies to legal action under Texas consumer protection laws.
Had it passed, the law would have taken effect in September. However, the bill failed to advance before the legislative session's deadline on Monday, June 2. The bill's provisions could still be revived as an amendment or budget stipulation, but such a move is considered unlikely at this late stage.
Patterson disappointed in HB 186's failure to pass the Senate
In a late-night, lengthy post on X on May 29, Patterson called the defeat "the biggest disappointment of my career," lamenting that the bill's failure meant he had "failed these kids and their families."
"HB 186 is – by far – the biggest disappointment of my career. I felt the weight of an entire generation of kids who've had their mental health severely handicapped as a result of the harms of social media," Patterson said. "And then there's the others – the parents of Texas kids who've died as a result of a stupid social media 'challenge' or by suicide after being pulled down the dangerous rabbit holes social media uses to hook their users, addict them on their products and drive them to depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation."
"Finally, there are the perfectly happy and healthy teens in Texas today, who will find themselves slowly falling off the edge before the legislature meets again in 2027," he stated.
In turn, Patterson indicated that he would push to pass the measure again when the Texas Legislature convenes in 2027.
"There was no bill filed this session that would have protected more kids in more ways than this one. HB 186 failing to pass this session means I've failed these kids and their families. At least for now. It's devastating, but I'm not done, not by a long shot. My purpose in being here, in this body and with this awesome responsibility, is to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. Even against billionaires and their tactics. 2027 is coming," he concluded.
Watch this following video about social media.
This video is from the BodyMindSoul channel on Brighteon.com.
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Australian Senate passes first-ever law prohibiting children 16 and under from using social media.
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