[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz today (May 26, 2026) signed HF 4138, to amend the Stop Harms From Addictive Social Media (SHASM) statute and establish new protections for children using social media, limiting addictive platform features, strengthening privacy safeguards, and increasing parental controls.
“As a teacher and a dad, I’ve seen firsthand how new and emerging technology can impact our children,” said Governor Walz. “As social media becomes more advanced, we need to make sure our families don’t fall victim to the powerful companies that use kids as a testing ground to make algorithms more addictive. Privacy and safety have to come first. This bill puts families back in the driver’s seat and makes sure technology works for our kids, not the other way around.”
The bill requires social media platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing children under 16 to create or maintain accounts. The bill also mandates that child accounts default to the highest privacy settings and provides parents with tools to monitor and limit their child’s usage.
SHASM is an important step forward in protecting Minnesota children and families by addressing the environment and influences that can contribute to harm, including online spaces,” said the Annunciation Light Alliance. “Annunciation Light Alliance was born from August 27th, and we evaluate every policy through the lens of prevention, intervention, and reducing harm associated with gun violence. SHASM reflects that approach by recognizing the role social media and online environments can play in escalation, isolation, and exposure to harmful content before a crisis occurs. We are grateful to Governor Walz, bipartisan legislators, parents, students, and advocates who moved SHASM forward with courage and compassion, and we remain committed to working with Minnesota leaders on evidence-based solutions that help keep children safe at school, at home, in our communities, and online.”
To address growing concerns about youth mental health and excessive screen time, the law prohibits platforms from using addictive design features, such as infinite scroll, autoplay video, and push notifications, on accounts belonging to children, with additional bans on targeted paid commercial advertising to child users.
The law also requires large social media platforms to make reasonable efforts to identify child users and apply appropriate protections. Families will have the ability to request account deletion, and violations of the law will be enforceable through legal action and oversight by the Attorney General.
