The 2025 legislative session has officially passed the halfway point. One of the most prevalent topics surrounding age verification right now is in relation to social media and adult content websites. In addition to those new laws, we also saw some changes for age verification in both the alcohol and cannabis industries. While there are still more age and identity verification laws in circulation, here are the ID scanning law updates for the first half of 2025.
Arizona House Bill 2112
- Effective: May 2025
- Scope: Arizona House Bill 2112 requires adult websites to implement digital identity checks to verify users’ ages.
- Penalties: Up to $10,000 per offense and $250,000 in total for non-compliance.
- Data Privacy: Prohibits companies from storing user data collected during verification.
Connecticut House Bill 6857
- Status: Approved by the House; pending Senate approval and governor’s signature.
- Effective: July 1, 2026 (if enacted)
- Scope: Connecticut House Bill 6857 aims to protect teens under 18 from personalized social media algorithms by limiting exposure between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
- Requirements: Mandates age verification and parental control; restricts algorithm-driven content unless parental consent is given.
- Exemptions: Educational content and services like Netflix and Hulu.
Georgia Senate Bill 351
- Effective: July 1, 2025
- Scope: Georgia Senate Bill 351 requires social media platforms to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for those under 16.
- Penalties: Up to $10,000 per offense for commercial entities
- Legal Challenge: Facing a lawsuit from NetChoice, arguing the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Massachusetts § 94G
- Status: Enacted
- Scope: Massachusetts § 94G, specifically 935 CMR 500.140 requires double age verification at Massachusetts cannabis dispensaries. Once at the point of entry and again before the point of sale.
- Penalties: Range from $10,000 to $100,000+ based on severity and frequency of violations.
- Privacy Concerns: While dispensaries use scanning systems to verify the accuracy of IDs, dispensaries do not typically share this information with law enforcement or government agencies without a warrant.
Texas Senate Bill 30003
- Status: Proposed; not yet enacted.
- Scope: Texas Senate Bill 3003 seeks to require online retailers to verify customers’ ages by collecting photo identification for the purchase of sex toys.
- Penalties: Violations would be a class A misdemeanor, with fines up to $4,000 and/or up to one year in jail, plus additional penalties up to $5,000 per violation.
- Privacy Concerns: Raises concerns due to lack of regulations for handling personal data collected for age verification.
Texas Senate Bill 650
- Status: Effective September 1, 2025
- Scope: Texas Senate Bill 650 requires retailers to a purchaser’s age in any retail sale of an alcoholic beverage on a permitted or licensed premises for off-premises consumption.
- Exemptions: Distillers, brewers, brewpubs, wineries, or restaurants.
Utah Senate Bill 142
- Effective: May 7, 2025
- Scope: Utah Senate Bill 142 was the first state to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors downloading apps.
- Requirements: App stores must request age information and link minor’s accounts to their parent’s account, possibly requesting ID for verification.
Virginia Senate Bill 854
- Effective: January 1, 2026
- Scope: Virginia Senate Bill 854 limits children under 16 to one hour of social media use per day unless parents provide verifiable consent through app settings.
- Requirements: Social media companies must verify users’ ages and may only collect data necessary for that purpose.
- Exemptions: Messaging and email platforms are exempt.
Conclusion
There is still much to be discussed in the states where legislation is pending, and even in states where the laws have been passed. We are actively tracking the status of the bills still under consideration and have solutions to ensure compliance on the bills taking effect. For more information on compliant solutions, contact a member of our team.
