Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Blog

On March 11, 2025, the Virginia legislature passed a bill that would amend the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”) to impose significant restrictions on minor users’ use of social media. The bill is pending signature by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has until March 24, 2025 to sign it into law. The bill comes on the heels of recent children’s privacy amendments to the VCDPA that took effect on January 1, 2025.

If signed into law, the bill would amend the VCDPA to require social media platform operators to (1) use commercially reasonable methods (such as a neutral age screen) to determine whether a user is a minor under the age of 16 and (2) limit a minor’s use of the social media platform to one hour per day, unless a parent consents to increase the limit. The bill would prohibit social media platform operators from altering the quality or price of any social media service due to the law’s time use restrictions.

If signed into law, the amendments to the VCDPA would take effect on January 1, 2026.