HB 5474 Connecticut House · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND MINORS.

HB 5474 requires social media platforms operating in the state to create an online safety center by January 1, 2026. These centers must provide minors (users under 18) with resources to prevent cyberbullying, identify mental health services, explain how to report harmful behavior, and share educational content about social media's mental health impacts. The bill also mandates that platforms establish a cyberbullying policy detailing how they handle reports of harmful behavior. These requirements apply to all social media platforms with users who are minors in the state, effective October 1, 2025.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare ✓ Technology

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Mar 24, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Proposed Bill → Committee Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to broaden its scope from only protecting sixteen-year-olds to protecting all minors under eighteen, and expanded requirements to include online safety centers and cyberbullying policies for social media platforms. The Committee Bill also incorporates more comprehensive data privacy definitions and processing restrictions from Connecticut's existing privacy law.

Scope change

Expanded from protecting only individuals sixteen years of age and under to protecting all minors younger than eighteen years of age.

ELIGIBILITY

Protection age changed from sixteen years of age to eighteen years of age, extending coverage to all minors.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for social media platform owners to incorporate an online safety center by January 1, 2026, providing resources for cyberbullying prevention and mental health services.

Added requirement for social media platform owners to establish a cyberbullying policy by January 1, 2026, detailing how reports are handled.

Incorporated data processing restrictions from section 42-529a, prohibiting controllers from processing minors' personal data for targeted advertising, data sales, or profiling without consent.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for consumer, cyberbullying, mental health services, owner, person, and social media platform to clarify terms used in the act.

SCOPE

Title changed from 'individuals sixteen years of age and under' to 'social media platforms and minors' to reflect broader applicability.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Committee on Children

lower

Feb 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

DRAFTED BY COMMITTEE

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Committee on Children

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors