LINCOLN, Neb - A bill that would require parental consent for Nebraska minors to create social media accounts advanced to the second round of debate April 11 after lawmakers amended it to include an additional proposal.
LB383, as introduced by Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, would create the Parental Rights in Social Media Act. The bill would require social media companies operating in Nebraska to utilize “reasonable age verification” processes to ensure anyone creating an account on their platform is at least 18 years old, beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Individuals younger than 18 could obtain an account if their parent, who also would be subject to age verification, submits a signed document confirming their consent.
Under the bill, digitized identification cards or third-party services would qualify as a reasonable age verification method. A commercial entity or third party would be prohibited from retaining a person’s identifying information after verification.
LB383 also would require social media companies to provide methods for parents to monitor a minor’s account activity and include options for a parent to:● view all posts the minor account holder makes under the social media platform account;● view all responses and messages sent to or by the minor account holder in the social media platform account;● control the minor’s privacy and account settings; and● monitor and limit the amount of time the minor account holder spends using the social media platform.
The Nebraska attorney general would be responsible for enforcing the act, which allows for penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation.
Storer said the impact social media has on the mental health and safety of young people is no longer up for debate. According to a 2023 U.S. Surgeon General advisory warning, she said, social media is a risk factor for adolescent mental health and can exacerbate issues such as negative body image, eating disorders, poor sleep quality, depression and anxiety.
LB383 would not ban access to social media, she said, but simply would give parents greater control over their children’s online activity.
“It puts parents back in the driver’s seat,” Storer said. “We are asking that parents be given the tools to make decisions for what social media platforms their children have access to. It’s really that simple.”
Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt filed a motion to bracket LB383 until June 9, saying the bill aims to control kids, not protect them. Social media can provide struggling young people with access to community and affirmation that they may not find within their own families, she said.
The motion failed on a vote of 4-26.
Sen. Jared Storm of David City spoke in support of LB383, saying he has five children at home who he struggles to protect from too much online activity. He cited research from Yale University that found youth who spend more than three hours a day on social media face twice the risk of negative mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“I’m living this right now,” Storm said. “It’s a full-time job to try to police social media.”
Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn also supported the proposal, saying it would provide guardrails rather than barriers for social media use by young Nebraskans. As chairperson, she introduced a Judiciary Committee amendment that would have added the provisions of Gering Sen. Brian Hardin’s LB172 to update the Child Pornography Prevention Act.
Lincoln Sen. George Dungan made a motion to divide the committee amendment and consider the provisions of LB383 separately from those of LB172. That motion was successful.
Dungan opposed the portion of the divided amendment containing LB383. Requiring someone to prove their age in order to participate in a public forum such as social media “runs afoul” of the First Amendment, he said.
Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha also opposed the measure, which he said could unintentionally make it harder for adults to access social media by requiring them to provide proof of identification in order for their children to open accounts.
Also speaking in opposition was Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney. Storer’s proposal likely would lead to a legal challenge, he said, noting that a similar measure passed in Arkansas was struck down recently by the courts on First Amendment grounds.
“I want to protect kids too, but we have to balance that,” McKinney said. “We have to think about the pros and cons and the likely outcomes — and the consequences.”
Senators adopted a technical amendment offered by Cavanaugh before voting 30-4 to adopt the divided portion of the committee amendment containing provisions of Storer’s LB383.
The remaining portion of the divided amendment containing Hardin’s LB172 would update the definition of child pornography to “visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct that has a child, other than the defendant, as one of its participants or portrayed observers.”
Additionally, the amendment would expand the definition of child pornography to include images generated by artificial intelligence or computers and would criminalize the act of knowingly receiving child pornography.
Hardin said emerging technology presents new challenges in combating the exploitation of children and that AI, deepfakes and digital manipulation allow predators to create lifelike computer-generated child pornography.
“This is not a victimless crime,” Hardin said. “Offenders often morph real images from social media into explicit content, causing real harm, and current laws do not always cover these cases.”
Senators adopted the portion of the divided amendment containing the provisions of LB172 on a 41-0 vote.
After also adopting an amendment from Storer to push back the effective date of her measure from Jan. 1 to July 1, 2026, senators voted 38-2 to advance LB383 to select file.