AgeGating's records are currently being gathered and analyzed. We expect this work to be complete by October 9, 2026.
Age-verification law, on the record
Where you must prove your age, what you must show, and who decided.
63 jurisdictions tracked 139 instruments on record 83 in force 11 enjoined
The observatory
One lens per law family. Shading shows whether a law is in force, enacted but not in force, or none is on record, in each state.
What must a person show before viewing adult content, and what happens to that proof?
What may a minor do on social platforms, and whose consent does the law require?
When is age proven once, at the app store or device, instead of at every service?
How must a service change once the law treats its user as a minor?
National and supranational law is tracked off the map, in the cards below.
AgeGating records what the law is. A statute blocked by a court is shown as enjoined; a repealed one as repealed. Nothing on this page grades whether a law is good policy.
Findings
Views derived from the record above, not independent judgments.
Adult content
27 states with a law in force, covering 168,497,780 residents.
Social media
7 states with a law in force, covering 77,606,702 residents.
App stores and devices
1 state with a law in force, covering 29,640,343 residents.
Design codes
10 states with a law in force, covering 57,982,603 residents.
Effective-year timeline
| Year | Instruments took effect |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 17 |
| 2025 | 33 |
| 2026 | 11 |
Status box score
| Status | Instruments |
|---|---|
| Enacted, not yet in force | 18 |
| Enjoined | 11 |
| In force | 83 |
| Proposed | 23 |
| Repealed | 2 |
| Struck down | 1 |
| Superseded | 1 |
The Meta consent judgment
Filed August 26, 2026. The Effective Date is the first business day after the court enters the judgment, so every deadline below runs from a date that has not happened yet.
| What it would require | When | Section |
|---|---|---|
| An age assurance method applied to every Meta user in the settling states | 1 year after entry | II.A.1 |
| Methods for detecting users under 13, including matching to other accounts likely held by the same person | 6 months after entry | II.A.6.b |
| A licensed method held to a ceiling on 13 to 17 year olds read as adults: 10% at ages 16 to 17, 3% at ages 13 to 15 | 1 year after entry | II.A.6.a |
| A method Meta builds itself held to 14% and 7% instead, tightening to 10% and 5% | 1 year, then 2 years after entry | II.A.6.a |
| Annual testing by an accredited third party, in real-world conditions, against ISO 27566 or an equivalent international standard | every year | II.A.2 |
| Age signals from Apple and Google operating systems and app stores incorporated into the framework | on adoption | II.A.5 |
| The obligations expire | 10 years after entry | X.B |
The floor it proposes for three other platforms
The agreement names Snap, TikTok and YouTube as Core Industry Members. Its tighter daily-limit and nighttime terms, and the difference between the guaranteed payment and the full one, take effect only once all three are subject to binding age assurance requirements for 13 to 17 year olds no less restrictive than the ones above. The attorneys general put the payment at $12.19 billion over ten years, rising to $17.1 billion if that condition is met. Texas is not a party to this filing and settled separately.
Source: Meta and State Attorneys General [Proposed] Consent Judgment, In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3047, No. 4:23-cv-05448-YGR (N.D. Cal. filed August 26, 2026), ECF 572-1.