Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law the Consumer Data Protection Act limiting teen social media access to one hour per day. The law will take effect January 1, 2026.

Among the guardrails set by the new law is a requirement for social media platforms to verify user’s age but to offer parental controls that can expand or contract the time allowed. The law does not apply to platforms designed primarily for messaging or news. 

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, teens who scroll social media more than three hours a day have double the risk of mental health problems. Social media has been blamed for everything from increased anxiety to gender dysphoria and the rise of trans teens.

Youngking launched a statewide initiative called Reconsidering Childhood in November of last year designed to reduce screentime by 25% and protect children from social media addictions.

Under the new legislation, platforms will be required to verify user age but are not allowed to use the information for other purposes. This act follows other regulations that went into effect January 1, 2025, helping to ensure privacy of minors’s personal data online.

Critics called the law “blatant censorship” and ineffective but supporters say it is a “giant step toward regulating social media and protecting our kids.” 

“If we were to effectively say, ‘Hey, Instagram, TikTok, one hour for people under 16,’ I suspect what we’re going to see is other platforms popping up and kids figuring out creative ways to use them, or they’re just going to lie about their ages on the platforms they’re on already,” said Jennifer Golbeck, professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Information. “There’s huge questions about whether this law is going to have any real effect on the way that kids are using social media.”

A similar measure in Utah limiting youth screen time between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. was blocked by a federal judge in September of last year.

The state’s attorney is charged with enforcing it but exactly how that will work remains to be seen.