SB 854: Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms, responsibilities and prohibitions to minors. - Virginia

Delegate Thomas Substitute → Chaptered · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was enacted into law as Chapter 703 of the 2025 Virginia Acts of Assembly, converting the proposed substitute bill into final legislation. The substantive policy content remains unchanged from the original proposal, establishing consumer data protection rules for social media platforms regarding minors, including age verification requirements and usage time limits.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the only difference is the transition from a proposed substitute bill to enacted law with official chapter designation and approval date.

TIMELINE

Added official enactment date of May 2, 2025 and effective date of January 1, 2026, replacing the original proposal date of February 20, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Changed document type from 'House Substitute' to 'Chaptered' with official chapter number 703 and approval stamp.

Added page numbering and formatting consistent with final enacted legislation.

Removed proposal metadata including Delegate Thomas name, Senate sponsor, and floor amendment designation.

Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute → Delegate Thomas Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from a House Substitute version to a Delegate Thomas Floor Amendment, primarily changing the document formatting and metadata while maintaining the same substantive policy content regarding social media platforms and minors. The core provisions remain identical, including the definition of minors as under 16, the one-hour daily usage limit, and prohibitions on discriminatory pricing.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the amendment appears to be primarily a formatting and procedural update for floor consideration.

TECHNICAL

Document formatting changed from House Substitute to Floor Amendment with updated page numbers and delegate attribution.

Bill number changed from 25107656D to 25107828D indicating procedural tracking update.

Date stamp changed from February 17, 2025 to February 20, 2025 reflecting the amendment date.

POLICY

All substantive policy provisions regarding social media platforms, minor protections, and data definitions remain identical to the original House Substitute version.

Communications, Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Substitute → Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a House Substitute version to a Senate Substitute version, with no substantive policy changes to the Consumer Data Protection Act provisions. The formatting differences include adjusted line spacing, page numbering, and timestamp metadata, but the actual legislative content regarding social media platform regulations for minors remains identical.

TECHNICAL

Formatted layout changed from left-aligned text to centered/right-aligned text with adjusted line breaks and spacing

Added timestamp metadata (2/17/25 11:05) and bill tracking numbers (25107656D, SB854H1) in the new version

Page numbering and header/footer formatting adjusted between House and Senate versions

General Laws and Technology Substitute → Communications, Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to change the definition of 'child' from under 13 to under 18 years old, and to update the title to reflect 'minors' instead of 'children'. The substantive policy content regarding social media platform restrictions remains the same, but the age threshold for protections was expanded.

Scope change

The scope of protection was expanded to include individuals aged 13-17 who were previously not covered under the child definition.

DEFINITION

Changed the definition of 'child' from 'younger than 13 years of age' to 'younger than 18 years of age' to extend protections to teenagers.

Updated the bill title from 'responsibilities and prohibitions related to children' to 'responsibilities and prohibitions related to minors' to align with the age change.

Removed the original Senate substitute header and formatting, replacing it with House substitute formatting.

TECHNICAL

Removed several blank lines and formatting elements from the original Senate substitute version.

Enrolled → General Laws and Technology Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill substitutes new language into Virginia's Consumer Data Protection Act, adding definitions for 'addictive feed' and 'addictive social media platform' while removing the previous social media platform restrictions that limited minors to one hour per day and prohibited price discrimination. The change shifts focus from time-based usage limits to prohibiting algorithms that prioritize content based on user data for minors.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from regulating social media platforms broadly to specifically targeting platforms that use addictive feed algorithms, narrowing the regulatory focus from general platform operation to algorithmic content prioritization.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the one-hour daily usage limit for minors on social media platforms and the prohibition on charging different prices to minors

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'addictive feed' and 'addictive social media platform' to specifically address algorithmic content prioritization based on user data

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the regulatory approach from limiting all social media platform usage for minors to only regulating platforms that use addictive feed algorithms

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · May 2, 2025

MODERATE

The bill progressed from introduction to enrollment, becoming law. The substantive policy content remains the same, focusing on protecting children under 18 from addictive social media feeds and establishing consumer data protection rules. The main difference is the formal transition from draft legislation to enacted law.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains unchanged. It applies to social media platforms operating in Virginia and protects children under 18 from addictive feeds and consumer data rights.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a draft bill introduction to an enrolled act, indicating it has been approved and signed into law.

REQUIREMENT

Social media platforms must use commercially reasonable methods to verify users are not minors or obtain parental consent before providing addictive feeds to users under 18.

Platforms cannot charge more, lower quality, or withhold services from users because they are minors and cannot receive addictive feeds.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for terms like 'addictive feed,' 'addictive social media platform,' 'consumer,' 'controller,' 'processor,' and 'personal data' to clarify the Consumer Data Protection Act.

Consumer Data Protection Act; social media platforms, responsibilities and prohibitions to minors.

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