Illinois House Passes Social Media Bill That Would Ban Addictive Algorithms and Age Verification

House Passes Pritzker Initiative to Regulate Children's Social Media Use

The Illinois House of Representatives approved a comprehensive bill Thursday that would require all internet-connected devices and platforms to verify users' ages and ban addictive social media features for minors.

House Bill 5511, also known as the Children's Social Media Safety Act, passed on an 82-27 vote and now moves to the state Senate for consideration. The measure is a top priority for Gov. JB Pritzker, whose staff worked closely on its development.

Age Verification and Algorithm Restrictions

The bill would create a statewide age verification system by 2028 that requires every internet-enabled device, operating system and application store to prompt users to indicate the birth date, age or both during initial account setup. Devices would then use this information to tell websites, apps and platforms what age bracket the user falls into.

The bill defines age brackets as under 13, between 13 and 15, between 16 and 17, and 18 and older.

For social media specifically, the legislation would ban companies from allowing minors to access addictive feeds unless given verifiable parental consent. Addictive feeds are defined as social media feeds of user-generated content recommended by algorithms tailored to users' data.

The bill also prohibits social media platforms from sending addictive feed notifications to minors between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. It additionally bans sharing minors' precise location data or allowing minors to engage in gifted currency exchanges without parental consent.

Bipartisan Support

Despite its focus on protecting minors, the bill received bipartisan backing in the House. Nine House Republicans joined Democrats in advancing the measure to the Senate.

Rep. Nicole La Ha, R-Lemont, told Capitol News Illinois that being a mom of school-aged children made her appreciate the need for guardrails when it comes to social media use in the state. She said she looks forward to using parental controls to ensure content her kids see on feeds is appropriate for their age.

Other Republicans said they supported the concept of the bill but indicated they would vote against it until more changes were made in the Senate.

Privacy Concerns and Enforcement

The bill has drawn criticism from civil rights groups and technology experts who raised concerns about privacy implications.

Stephen Ragan, a policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU of Illinois, argued at a committee hearing that mandating age gates raises serious constitutional questions while the root of the harms go unaddressed.

Christopher Whitaker, a former digital service expert for the federal government, told the RoundTable that age gates are hard to enforce at the device level and raise privacy concerns from both government and corporate actors.

Whitaker is part of a group of civic technologists who advocated against the bill in its original form and have since worked with lawmakers to address their concerns. He said the bill's amended version filed April 10 fixes many concerns from the first version, including by tightening restrictions on how age data can be used and specifically protecting access to information on sexuality, reproductive health and other topics.

He said a stronger approach would be to focus on data protections like those provided in the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.

What the Bill Does Not Include

Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, the bill sponsor, made clear that the legislation does not restrict the content children can see online or allow parents to monitor what children are doing on social media.

"This bill does not include any content moderation or allow parents to monitor what children are doing online," Gong-Gershowitz said. "It simply targets a harmful design feature like addictive algorithms that are designed to keep kids online. Children can still see the same content."

Gong-Gershowitz filed the bill in February after calling attention to the issue during a committee hearing. She said parents deserve peace of mind when their kids are online and that social media offers people a chance to connect to the world like never before. But she added it is important to make sure children are not being negatively impacted by that connectivity.

Enforcement and Timeline

Companies that violate the law would have to pay fines under the state's Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which allows for lawsuits from any affected individual.

The changes would take effect in 2028. The General Assembly's spring session runs through May 31, after which any unapproved bills must wait until the fall veto session.

Pritzker called on lawmakers during his February State of the State address to advance regulations on social media. He said everywhere he goes, parents tell him one of their deepest concerns is the impact social media is having on their kids. He described it as a challenge unique to this generation that is made worse by the perverse incentive that social media companies seem to have to keep kids scrolling no matter what the cost to their physical and mental health.

Pritzker is also pushing lawmakers to tax social media companies based on the number of users they have in Illinois.

Source

Evanston RoundTable, https://evanstonroundtable.com/2026/04/16/state-lawmakers-advance-bill-requiring-age-verification-on-all-online-devices-and-websites/