# 119-s-5226: Parental Approval for Youth Social Media Act of 2026

119-s-5226, Parental Approval for Youth Social Media Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5226
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5226
- Congress: 119
- Title: Parental Approval for Youth Social Media Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-08-04
- Sponsor: Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Requires verifiable parental consent before children under age 16 can create or keep social media accounts.** Platforms would need to verify a parent's approval and, when consent is given, operate parent-supervised accounts that include meaningful oversight tools defined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). - Families: Parents must approve accounts for kids under 16 and get tools to monitor and manage those accounts. - Platforms: Providers may not let users they know or should know are under 16 create or maintain accounts without verified parental consent. The FTC would set acceptable verification methods and required features for supervised accounts. - Data and privacy: Information collected to verify parental consent can be used only as specified in rulemaking and may be retained only until the child reaches age 16 or the account is deleted, except where other law requires longer retention. - Enforcement and scope: The FTC would enforce the rules and issue regulations. States could sue under parens patriae for injunctive relief, damages, restitution, and other relief. The definition of social media platform excludes email, text messaging, educational platforms, video conferencing, and incidental online gaming.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Parents must approve kids' social accounts: benefit, medium. This bill would require social media sites to get verifiable parental permission before anyone under 16 can make or keep an account. If a parent agrees, the account would be a parent-supervised account with tools like time limits, message controls, purchase approvals, and the ability to view and ma…
- FTC rules and state enforcement: benefit, medium. This bill would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to write rules on how sites check age, verify parents, and run parent-supervised accounts. Violations would be treated as unfair or deceptive acts under the FTC Act, letting the FTC use its usual enforcement powers and penalties. State att…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5226 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5226)

## Related
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5226 (as of 2026-09-10).