A bill that would have banned anyone under 18 from using or creating social media accounts appears to be dead in the Texas Legislature after missing a crucial procedural deadline Wednesday night.
The proposal would have established one of the nation’s strictest efforts to limit minors’ access to social media. House Bill 186 called for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook to verify users’ ages, prohibit minors from signing up, and delete existing accounts at a verified parent’s request. Companies that failed to comply could have faced legal action under Texas consumer protection laws.
The measure would have excluded services with content that isn’t user-generated or those primarily focused on interactive gaming. It was approved by the Texas House last month but failed to clear the Senate Wednesday night — effectively killing the bill.
Republican Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco, the bill’s author, took to social media on Thursday to express his frustration over his measure's failure to advance.
"HB 186 is — by far — the biggest disappointment of my career. I felt the weight of an entire generation of kids who’ve had their mental health severely handicapped as a result of the harms of social media," Patterson wrote. "There was no bill filed this session that would have protected more kids in more ways than this one. HB 186 failing to pass this session means I’ve failed these kids and their families."
HB 186 drew sharp criticism from civil liberties groups and tech advocates who warned it could violate the First Amendment and create major privacy concerns. Among these critics is Ari Cohn, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which previously sued the state over the 2023 SCOPE Act.
“HB 186 couldn’t be more unconstitutional,” Cohn said. “It tramples on the well-established First Amendment rights of both minors and adults to speak and receive information online.”
Cohn warned that the bill’s language was “stunningly broad,” potentially affecting not only social media platforms, but also messaging apps, online forums and even collaborative sites like Wikipedia. He added that the bill could have undermined online anonymity for adults and denied minors access to constitutionally protected content.
“The First Amendment leaves no room for the notion that Texas can outright ban minors from online communication wholesale,” Cohn said.
HB 186 was the latest in a series of laws from Texas aimed at regulating tech platforms. Earlier this week, Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 2420 into law, which will require app stores to implement age verification and parental controls for downloads by minors. That law — which was opposed by companies like Apple — is set to take effect next year. In 2023, lawmakers passed the SCOPE Act to give parents more control over children’s online activity, though parts of that law were blocked by a federal judge on constitutional grounds.
And Texas isn’t alone. Florida passed a similar law last year, banning children under 14 from social media and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. Though challenged in court, the ban remains in effect. Several other states, including Arkansas, Utah and Oklahoma, have passed or proposed legislation to limit minors’ access to online platforms.
While HB 186 appears dead for now, it’s worth noting it could still resurface. Lawmakers could try to tack it onto another measure as an amendment before the session ends. It’s rare — but not impossible — in the Texas Legislature.
