New York Attorney General Letitia James released final regulations for implementing the SAFE for Kids Act, which was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2024. The rules establish detailed requirements for how social media platforms must verify user ages and obtain parental consent for minors to access certain features. The law becomes effective on January 25, 2027, and platforms that fail to comply could face penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.
Social media platforms with user-generated content where users spend at least 20 percent of their time on algorithmic feeds will need to verify ages before providing access to algorithm-driven feeds or notifications sent between midnight and 6 AM to adult users. The regulations do not mandate a specific age verification method but establish accuracy standards that systems must meet. Platforms must achieve low false positive rates and demonstrate the ability to detect attempts to circumvent age checks 98 percent of the time. While government-issued identification is one option, platforms must provide at least one alternative verification method. Any personal information collected during age verification must be deleted or de-identified immediately after use.
The rules outline requirements for parental consent when minors request access to age-gated features. Young users must consent to their parents being notified before accessing restricted content. However, platforms cannot prevent minors from accessing non-age-gated sections of their services or from searching for specific content simply because parents have not approved use of restricted features. Both parents and minors retain the ability to withdraw consent at any time. Platforms are not required to share information about minors’ search histories or content topics with parents as part of the consent process.
The final regulations closely resemble the Attorney General’s preliminary proposal from September. Now that the rules are finalized, privacy and free speech advocates who question whether age verification mechanisms could compromise user privacy and constitutional rights may challenge the law in court. Although courts have frequently ruled against the tech industry in similar cases involving state age verification laws, the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding a Texas age verification requirement for adult websites may strengthen the legal position of the state.
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