Social media ban for Hoosiers under 16 gets Indiana Senate greenlight

A bill prohibiting some Hoosier minors from using social media without their parents’ permission got bipartisan support in the Indiana Senate on Thursday and moved to the House for further consideration.

Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, said the bill doesn’t try to regulate or define one specific app but broadly applies the prohibition to any social media site. Under the proposal, anyone under the age of 16 would need to secure permission from their guardians before accessing apps like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

It is up to the individual social media site to choose a mechanism to prove parental permission.

“We’re telling (the social media sites) what we want. How they do it is up to them,” said Bohacek, who authored the bill requiring age verification for pornographic sites last year.

A provision that allowed parents to sue companies for violating the measure was amended out in committee.

“My goal of the bill is not to just fill the court with lawsuits. The goal is to take care of our children and to give our children the best tools,” Bohacek said.

The Office of the Attorney General has the power to issue a civil investigative demand to determine whether a social media site has violated the law, with civil penalties capped at $250,000.

“I don’t think the penalty to multibillion dollar companies will be the fix. I think the fix will be the embarrassment of not doing the right thing,” Bohacek added.

He pointed to mental health concerns for youth online, as well as targeted advertising practices, as reasons why the bill is needed.

However, it wasn’t unanimously adopted, with five lawmakers—three Democrats and two Republicans—voting against the proposal.

Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, wondered whether it would compel social media companies to authenticate all users, not just youth, although he emphasized his support for the underlying bill.

“They’re essentially going to say we have to have people authenticate because there’s no algorithm that’s going to be perfect,” Pol said.

Bohacek maintained that social media companies have the industry tools needed to meet the bill’s requirement.

Senators also voted to kickstart the constitutional process for changing the name of the auditor’s office to comptroller. A previous office holder said the term comptroller better described her duties because the office distributes funds and doesn’t audit spending.

The name change has already been placed in statute, but the Indiana Constitution involves a longer process. The change must pass two separately-elected legislative sessions and then be placed on a general election ballot for voter approval.

An accompanying bill, though, would forge ahead and change the name of the office to comptroller for the 2026 election cycle.

The legislative body also advanced a bill to continue cutting Indiana’s income tax rate so long as revenues grow.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.