South Carolina

Subnational jurisdiction · as of 2026-07-15

South Carolina has required age verification for adult content sites since January 2025, and enacted an Age-Appropriate Design Code Act in February 2026 that took immediate effect. NetChoice sued over the design code within days of enactment, and a preliminary injunction motion is pending. South Carolina has not enacted a social-media-specific age verification law or an app store accountability law; an App Store Accountability Act bill (H.3405) has not advanced out of the House.

01

Instruments on record

H.3431 (2026), Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (Act No. 96 of 2026)

In force

S.C. Code Ann. Title 39, ch. 80

Effective 2026-02-05 · Applies to private

Requires online services reasonably likely to be accessed by minors to set protective default privacy settings for known minors, offer opt outs from personalized recommendation systems, limit addictive design features and nighttime and school hours notifications, and undergo independent third party audits reported to the Attorney General. NetChoice sued days after enactment and a preliminary injunction motion is pending.

Age threshold18
PenaltiesTreble damages available to the Attorney General, and possible personal liability for officers and employees for willful and wanton violations.
Enforcement bodySouth Carolina Attorney General

Litigation: NetChoice, LLC v. Wilson, No. 3:26-cv-00543-SAL (D.S.C.) (U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina). Filed February 9, 2026 alleging First and Fourteenth Amendment violations. NetChoice moved for a preliminary injunction on March 9, 2026; briefing was completed April 20, 2026 and the motion remains pending with no ruling as of this date, so the Act remains enforceable.

Source: Full text of law

H.3424 (2024), Child Online Safety Act

In force

S.C. Code Ann. section 37-1-310

Effective 2025-01-01 · Applies to private

Requires a commercial entity that knowingly publishes material on a website, more than one third of which is material harmful to minors, to perform reasonable age verification of South Carolina visitors using a digitized identification card, a third party verification service, or a commercially reasonable method relying on transactional data.

Age threshold18
Verification methodsdigital id, third party service, transactional data
Enforcement bodySouth Carolina Attorney General; private civil action for damages, court costs, and attorney fees.
Private suitsyes

Source: Full text of law