Kansas bill would require parental consent for minors on social media

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas legislators introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit social media platforms from allowing children under 16 to create accounts without verified parental consent, which parents could revoke at any time.

House Bill 2657, introduced by the Legislative Modernization Committee, would require platforms to implement age-verification measures and suspend access to existing accounts until parental consent is obtained. Parents could also request deletion of a minor's account. The attorney general would enforce the measure under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. A companion bill, HB 2671 — the "Kansas Community Harmed by AI Technology Act" — would impose similar restrictions on artificial intelligence chatbots, requiring companies to verify user ages, obtain parental consent for minors and block interactions involving suicidal ideation or sexually explicit content. The Education Committee's HB 2662 would require schools to designate a "student safety and awareness month" featuring programs on fentanyl dangers, personal safety and social media literacy.

Lawmakers also advanced measures addressing children in state custody. HB 2638, from the Child Welfare and Foster Care Committee, would require the secretary for children and families to formally notify children of their rights, maintain records of that notification and obtain written confirmation of comprehension. HB 2639 would rename "juvenile crisis intervention centers" as "juvenile stabilization centers" while modifying intake criteria and treatment services. The Judiciary Committee introduced HB 2651, which would allow voluntary paternity acknowledgments to be challenged at any time in cases of fraud, duress or mistake of fact — including when genetic testing contradicts the acknowledgment.

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