Georgia Senate Bill 351

Overview

Georgia Senate Bill 351 (SB 351), known as the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024, establishes strict age verification requirements and expands protections for minors using websites that distribute material harmful to minors or operate social media platforms. The law also introduces significant education, enforcement, and liability standards for school systems and commercial platforms.

It aims to reduce early exposure to harmful online content, prevent unverified minors from accessing social media, and hold businesses accountable for child safety online.

Regulation Summary

Timeline

April 2024 – SB 351 passed by the Georgia General Assembly.
July 1, 2025 – Effective date for enforcement.

What Businesses Are Affected

Commercial entities operating websites with more than 33.33% content harmful to minors.
Social media platforms with users under age 16.
Public and private schools, school boards, and the Department of Education.
Third-party age verification providers.

Exemptions

News and public interest broadcasters and platforms.
Cloud services and ISPs not responsible for the content itself.
Certain education platforms, collaborative tools, and single-purpose utilities.

Responsibilities for Businesses

Implement reasonable age verification, including use of:
- Digitized identification cards.
- Government-issued IDs.
- Commercially reasonable methods meeting NIST IAL2 standards.
Do not retain identifying information after verification.
Obtain verifiable parental consent for minors under 16 seeking social media access.

Disclose moderation tools to parents upon request.

Specific Responsibilities for Website Owners

Block all access to harmful content without age verification.
Block the usage of data from identified minors for targeted advertising.
Do not collect or use personal data from minors, unless strictly necessary.
Require parental consent to create an account.

Additional Requirements

Require schools to develop acceptable-use and social media access policies.
Submit policies to the Georgia Department of Education by April 1, 2026.
Provide technical measures and parental controls.
Allow parents to restrict access to specific platforms.

Individual Rights

Right to data protection: No retention of identifying information after access.
Right to damages: Applies only to violations involving harmful content without age verification. Courts may award actual damages, court costs, and attorney fees.
Right to parental legal action: Parents may act on behalf of minors exposed to harmful content. No private right of action exists for violations related to social media parental consent.

Enforcement

Attorney General, Solicitor General, or District Attorney may enforce this Act.
$2,500 per violation for social media violations; $10,000 for harmful content without age verification.
90-day cure period before litigation.
Civil penalties handled by Georgia superior courts.
No private right of action.