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Arkansas Enacts Social Media Safety Act
Practical Law Legal Update w-039-1619 (Approx. 4 pages)
Arkansas Enacts Social Media Safety Act
by Practical Law Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
| Published on 13 Apr 2023 • Arkansas |
Arkansas has enacted the Social Media Safety Act aimed at protecting social media users under 18 years of age by requiring age verification and parental consent. It also prohibits the retention of an individual's identifying information after they gain access to the social media platform. The Arkansas attorney general will enforce the Act.
On April 12, 2023, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Social Media Safety Act (SB 396). The Act applies to social media companies, with certain exceptions, and requires them to engage in reasonable age verification and obtain parental consent before permitting minors under 18 to create an account or profile.
The Act applies to social media companies controlled by business entities that generate at least $100 million in annual gross revenue. It defines social media companies as online forums that companies make available for account holders to:
- Create public profiles, establish accounts, or register as users with the primary purpose of interacting socially with other profiles and accounts.
- Upload or create posts or content.
- View posts or content of other account holders.
- Interact with other account holders, including establishing, without limitation, mutual connections through request and acceptance.
The definition of social media company expressly includes companies that allow users to create short video clips of dancing, voice overs, or other non-educational or informative entertainment acts.
The Act contains many exceptions to the social media company definition, for example, companies that:
- Exclusively offer subscription content for users to follow or subscribe to unilaterally and whose platforms' primary purpose is not social interaction.
- Only offer interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or online services that allow users to create and upload content for interactive gaming or entertainment and communication related to that content.
- Offer cloud storage, cybersecurity services, educational devices, or collaboration tools for K-12 schools and either:
- derive less than 25% of their revenue from operating a social media platform, including games and advertising; or
- provide career development opportunities.
The Act requires social media companies to obtain express parental or guardian consent before permitting a user under age 18 to create a social media account or profile. Social media companies must perform reasonable age verification through a third-party vendor to confirm that a person seeking to access a social media platform is at least 18 years old. Reasonable age verification includes:
- A digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver's license.
- Government-issued identification.
- Any commercially reasonable age verification method.
The Act prohibits commercial entities and third-party vendors from retaining any identifying information they use for age verification purposes after the individual gains access to the social media platform.
The Arkansas attorney general will enforce the Act. A social media company that violates the Act may be liable for either:
- A penalty of $2,500 per violation, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees.
- Damages resulting from a minor accessing a social media platform without parental or guardian consent, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
In addition, a commercial entity or third-party vendor that knowingly retains an individual's identifying information after they gain access to the social media platform is liable to the individual for damages resulting from retaining the identifying information, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
The Social Media Safety Act becomes effective on September 1, 2023.