Michigan House Bill 4388 would regulate social media use by minors

A version of the following written comment was submitted to the Michigan House Committee on Regulatory Reform on November 13, 2025.

While the intention behind House Bill 4388 is a worthy attempt to reinforce a parent’s role in keeping kids safe online, the bill suffers from constitutional concerns and privacy risks that must be addressed before it becomes law. As other states have learned, through the passage of nearly identical legislation, the outcome of leaving these constitutional concerns and privacy risks unaddressed is wasted taxpayer dollars in attorneys’ fees without forward progress.  

The fact of the matter is that laws mandating age verification for social media platforms cut through the core of the First Amendment right to access speech and speak anonymously. Age verification laws also create unnecessary privacy risks by requiring online account holders and users to disclose personal information before accessing social media.  

All of this has held true across the states that passed bills that were nearly identical to HB 4388, and for the reasons outlined below, we urge this legislature to oppose this bill.  

HB 4388 is fraught with constitutional concerns 

The exact methods a social media company must use to comply with HB 4388’s age verification mandate is a mystery — the only hint provided by the bill as to the procedures and mechanisms for verifying age is that the attorney general (AG) must recommend more than just the use of a valid government-issued ID. This does not mean a government-issued ID is off the table; it just means it cannot be the only recommendation. While one should never speculate as to the recommendations that could be offered by the Michigan AG, when this bill was passed in Utah, the proposed alternative methods of privacy-invasive age verification included biometric facial scans, bank information requests, social security numbers, and more.

The same ambiguous delegation of authority is relied on for setting rules for confirming a parent is, indeed, the parent of a minor account user. Same for “retaining, protecting, and securely disposing” this information. As the Supreme Court has made clear, it is rare for such a burden on the First Amendment to survive legal scrutiny.

Other states that passed HB 4388 have not been successful in court 

Not even Utah follows this approach, despite being the first state in the country to pass a near-identical bill in 2023. In fact, exactly one month after the first complaint was filed in a lawsuit over Senate Bill 152, alleging that the bill violated the First Amendment, the AG requested that the court reschedule hearings due to the legislature completely rewriting the law and pushing back the effective date. The new law that followed, Utah Senate Bill 194, was enjoined for violating the First Amendment.

Other states that have passed nearly identical laws as HB 4388 have either lost in court, been forced to delay effective dates, or are now awaiting hearings. This includes Arkansas (permanent injunction), Georgia (preliminarily enjoined), Louisiana (pending judgment, effective date delayed),and Tennessee (pending judgment), with Nebraska likely to be added to that list within the year.

Similar, though not identical, bills have found the same to be true. This includes California’s Senate Bill 976, which was blocked by the district court and the Ninth Circuit on appeal. Another similar bill, Mississippi’s House Bill 1126, was also struck down by the courts. The list goes on, including Texas, Ohio, and Maryland.

HB 4388 ignores clear privacy risks inherent in age verification 

As has been fleshed out over time, “commercially available methods” involve handing over sensitive information like a government ID, biometric facial scan data, social security numbers, banking information, and more. This information, and the process used to gather and collect it, has not only led to privacy risks but also painted a target on the backs of companies collecting it, resulting in significant data breaches that could have been prevented had these laws not been in place.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this written testimony, and we welcome the opportunity to advise the legislature on this subject in the future.  

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