New York will soon require social media users to verify their age, a form of digital ID, to access algorithmic feeds between midnight and 6 a.m.

The law, called the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, aims to enact social media restrictions for children and teenagers that curb access to “addictive” design features unless they obtain parental consent.

Although the legislation is written for minors, the age verification will impact every social media user.

The law takes effect in January.

“Social media companies, you’re now on notice,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press conference, according to New York Daily News.

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“Any platform that attempts to bombard our young people with addictive feeds or to monetize their mental health — which is exactly what’s going on — will face legal action,” she added.

New York Daily News shared further:

The SAFE for Kids Act requires that social media companies obtain parental consent before granting young people under 18 access to algorithmic feeds and push notifications between midnight and 6 a.m..

Algorithmic feeds have been shown to keep users on platforms for longer by using personal data to serve unlimited content customized to them. New York officials say the feature may drive “unhealthy levels of social media use” that ultimately harm young people’s mental health, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

If a parent denies permission, the platform will automatically revert to a chronological feed of posts shared by people the child already follows, resembling social media apps before the rise of algorithms. Young people will continue to have access to search functions.

The law is slated to take effect January 25, 2027, with the rules that will govern compliance now in place.

“The SAFE for Kids Act leads the nation in keeping our children safe online and protecting youth from the devastating effects of unchecked social media. These rules set standards for age verification and parental control to ensure tech companies are doing their part to keep kids safe on their platforms,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

“Young people are particularly vulnerable to addictive social media features, and my office is committed to protecting all New Yorkers from potentially harmful technologies and companies that try to take advantage of them,” she added.

“New York’s final SAFE for Kids rules landed. To keep an algorithmic feed, or notifications after midnight, every adult in the state has to prove they’re an adult. That means a government ID, a face scan, or a phone number cross-checked against data already held on you,” Reclaim The Net stated.

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Reclaim The Net explained further:

The law is written for under-18s but, as always has to be the case, the age-checking reaches everyone. To keep an algorithmic feed or overnight notifications, a user above 17 has to prove to the platform that they are an adult. Confirming who counts as an adult means collecting government IDs, face scans, phone numbers and email addresses from people who until now typed a birth date and moved on. James rejected the privacy objection to all this. The rules are “not a question of privacy,” she said.

Platforms can accept a government-issued ID upload and the rules force them to offer at least one other option.

James’s office also lists a selfie image or video, or an email address or phone number cross-checked against other data that is held on a person. Any of those hands a company something it can tie to a real identity.

It’s clear that the law isn’t shying away from allowing platforms to collect sensitive user data, including biometrics, and allowing cross-referencing against other data.

For minors, the default changes. Instead of a personalized feed, users under 18 see posts from accounts they follow in a set sequence such as chronological order, unless a parent consents to the algorithm version.

 

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