Hochul Pushing Implementation of her Social Media Law for Kids

New York is preparing to finalize rules for Governor Hochul's groundbreaking social media law aimed at protecting children, but the process has taken far longer than expected. The legislation, passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in the state Legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2024, prohibits platforms from showing content to minors through algorithms based on their online activity unless parents consent. It also bans late-night notifications to children.

Hochul has repeatedly highlighted the measure as one of her top accomplishments, often citing it in the context of youth mental health. At a recent education roundtable in western New York, she emphasized the importance of the restrictions.

“There's such a negative influence on our young people coming from addictive algorithms that are bombarding students,” Hochul said. “We stopped all that in New York.”

Despite the governor’s celebratory tone, the law has yet to take effect. It cannot be enforced until the state attorney general’s office issues regulations, a step that has not been completed more than a year after the law’s signing. A source told the Times Union that the regulations are expected to be unveiled within weeks.

The attorney general’s office faces a difficult task: drafting the first set of regulations for the law while simultaneously preparing a legal defense strategy for potential court challenges. Similar laws in other states have already sparked lawsuits and legal experts expect New York’s to face the same test.

“I think we’re seeing a trend throughout the country of these types of bills facing legal challenges due to the common thread around concerns of violation of the First Amendment and things of that nature,” said Alex Spyropoulos, director of government relations for Tech:NYC, a trade group that has raised concerns about the law.

Arkansas, California, Florida and Colorado are among the states already entangled in litigation over comparable measures. The lawsuits, led by the trade association NetChoice, argue such regulations infringe on free speech rights.

When Hochul signed New York’s version into law, NetChoice criticized it as “an assault on free speech.” At the time, the group’s vice president and general counsel, Carl Szabo, warned, “NetChoice has defeated similar unconstitutional bills in three other states, where the judges in each of those cases highlighted the serious First Amendment and privacy concerns with this type of legislation.”

Any lawsuit against New York likely won’t come until the law is active, which won’t be until at least the spring of 2026. Once regulations are finalized, the law still mandates a six-month waiting period before implementation.

The rules will have to cover several complicated issues such as how platforms identify child users, how parents can opt them out of algorithm-driven feeds, and what accessibility standards must be met. The attorney general’s office closed public input on the regulations nearly a year ago and the length of the process has raised eyebrows, though some say it’s to be expected.

“The office has had a monumental task and continues to have a monumental task of trying to figure out how this rolls out,” Spyropoulos said. “This is a very complex issue.”

Once the draft regulations are released, they will undergo a public comment period lasting about two months. This could lead to revisions. If changes are made, another comment period would be required, further delaying implementation.

“Leaving those gaps now to the [attorney general’s] team and figuring out how that works ... kind of creates a much lengthier, more complex and I think less transparent process,” Spyropoulos said.

The law’s sponsors, State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, have remained quiet on the pace of implementation. Meanwhile, the attorney general’s office has been in discussions with a small group of stakeholders, including Tech:NYC, but has not shared details of its progress with the public.

Major tech companies have also taken a keen interest. Google, Roblox, Snapchat and Meta - the parent company of Facebook and Instagram - all reported lobbying state officials on the regulations this year, spending more than $500,000 collectively on those and other state policy efforts. Of those companies, only Roblox is not part of NetChoice, meaning the others could eventually oppose the very rules they sought to influence if the group pursues litigation.

NetChoice has not commented on whether it will sue New York once the law is enforced.

Hochul Pushing Implementation of Social Media Law for Kids