New York age verification rules for social media are now final: starting Jan. 25, 2027, platforms covered by the state’s SAFE for Kids Act will have to check users’ ages before giving them algorithmic feeds or notifications between midnight and 6AM.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released the final implementation rules for the law, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in June 2024. The rules spell out how platforms must determine a user’s age, how they must collect parental consent for minors, and what happens if they ignore the statute. After the effective date, violations can carry penalties of up to $5,000 each, according to the attorney general’s office.
What does New York's age verification rule require?
The rules apply to social media platforms with user-generated content where users spend at least 20 percent of their time in algorithmic feeds. To offer those feeds, or to send adults overnight notifications, covered platforms must use an age-checking method that meets accuracy standards set by the state.
The state does not require one specific verification tool. A government-issued ID can be used, but platforms must also offer at least one alternative. The rules also require systems to detect attempts to evade age checks 98 percent of the time, a technical bar that will put pressure on the usual “just click yes” age gate. Information gathered for age checks must be deleted or de-identified immediately after it is used, according to the rules.
For users under 18, the law walls off algorithmic feeds and overnight notifications unless a parent gives permission. Minors can ask for that permission, and they must agree to have a parent notified as part of the process.
The rules also limit how much leverage platforms can use during that consent step. A platform cannot lock a minor out of the parts of the service that are not age-gated just because a parent has not approved the restricted features. It also cannot block the minor from searching for specific content on that basis.
How parental consent works
Both the parent and the child can later withdraw consent, according to the final rules. The platform also does not have to show a parent the child’s search history or content topics to obtain approval, which avoids turning consent into a built-in surveillance console for every household argument about TikTok.
The final version is broadly in line with the attorney general’s earlier proposal from September. Now that the rules are locked, legal challenges are the obvious next step. Opponents of age verification laws have argued that these systems can burden privacy and speech rights by forcing people to identify themselves before using ordinary parts of the internet.
Courts have blocked some state laws that tried to impose age verification or parental consent requirements on social media companies. The legal picture is not all one-way, though. The Supreme Court recently upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for access to adult websites, giving states more room to test these mandates. New York is now taking that fight from porn sites to algorithmic social feeds.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
