New York's Attorney General Letitia James has issued final rules implementing the SAFE for Kids Act, which will require social media platforms to verify users' ages before granting access to algorithmic content feeds or overnight notifications. Signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2024, the measure takes effect on 25 January 2027 and could see non-compliant platforms fined up to $5,000 per violation, marking one of the more prescriptive state-level attempts in the US to regulate how minors interact with social media.

Under the rules, platforms with user-generated content where at least 20% of user time is spent on algorithmic feeds must verify ages using methods with low false-positive rates and at least a 98% success rate in detecting attempts to bypass the checks; a government-issued ID is one option, but platforms must offer at least one alternative, and any data collected must be deleted or de-identified immediately after use. The rules also set out how under-18s can seek parental consent to unlock age-gated features, while barring platforms from restricting access to non-gated content over a lack of parental consent, and both parents and children may withdraw consent at any time. The final version closely mirrors James's initial September proposal, but faces likely legal challenges over privacy and speech concerns, even though the US Supreme Court's recent decision upholding a Texas age-verification law for adult websites may bolster the state's position.