No more secret TikTok accounts — Nebraska parents get final say starting 2026

Nebraska sets new rules for teen accounts

Nebraska is about to change how kids under 18 sign up for social media.

Starting July 1, 2026, platforms will need a parent’s permission before any minor can create an account. Gov. Jim Pillen signed the Parental Rights in Social Media Act into law on May 20, 2025.

The state legislature passed it with strong support, 46-3. Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman introduced the bill at the governor’s request.

Platforms must check ages before letting kids sign up

Social media companies can’t just take a user’s word for their age anymore.

The law requires platforms to use a “reasonable age verification method” before anyone creates an account. That could mean a digital ID or other commercially approved tools.

Companies can hire outside vendors to run the checks.

But once verification is done, the company and its vendors must delete any identifying information they collected.

Parents have to sign off and prove their own age

If a user is under 18, a parent must give express consent before the account goes live. But the parent also has to pass age verification.

They must submit a signed form confirming they are the child’s parent and that they approve the account. That form can be sent back by mail, fax, or electronic scan.

No signature, no account.

Parents get real tools to watch their kids online

The law doesn’t just stop at sign-up. Social media companies must give parents tools to keep an eye on their child’s account.

Parents can see all posts, messages, and responses sent to or by their child. They can also control privacy settings and limit how much time their child spends on the platform.

It gives parents a level of oversight that current platforms don’t typically offer.

Parents can pull their consent at any time

If a parent changes their mind, the law has a clear path out. Companies must build a way for parents to revoke consent whenever they want.

Once a parent pulls consent, the company must remove the child’s account. The child cannot create a new account unless a parent gives fresh approval.

Under Nebraska Revised Statute 86-1703, once consent is revoked, the company does not need to re-verify unless a new request comes in.

Violations can cost companies $2,500 per incident

The Nebraska Attorney General enforces the act. Companies that break the rules face penalties of up to $2,500 per violation.

The law also lets private citizens sue companies directly. Parents and minors harmed by violations can seek actual damages in court.

People whose identifying data gets kept after verification, which the law bans, can also take legal action on their own.

The bill also targets AI-generated child abuse material

LB383 did more than regulate social media sign-ups.

Lawmakers amended it to include provisions from a separate bill, LB172, which ban AI-generated and computer-generated child sexual abuse material.

The law also renamed the Child Pornography Prevention Act to the Child Sexual Abuse Material Prevention Act. Adults who violate the AI-generated material ban face felony charges.

Not every platform falls under the law

The law has a clear definition of what counts as social media: a website or app where users create accounts and communicate through posts.

Email services, broadband providers, interactive games, and educational entertainment are all excluded. Shopping websites, cloud storage services, and peer-to-peer payment apps don’t qualify either.

The full list of platform definitions and exemptions appears in the enrolled text of LB383.

Critics raised privacy and free speech concerns

Not everyone supported the bill. During legislative hearings, the ACLU of Nebraska and the tech industry group NetChoice both opposed it.

Critics argued that requiring all users to verify their age burdens free speech rights. Opponents also warned that collecting ID data, even temporarily, creates new privacy risks.

NetChoice pointed to concerns about identity theft, noting that nearly two million children were victims of data breaches in recent years.

Some state laws like Nebraska’s have been blocked in court

Nebraska joins a growing number of states trying to limit minors’ access to social media, but the legal road has been rough elsewhere.

Federal courts permanently blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Ohio on constitutional grounds. A Virginia law restricting minors’ social media use was also blocked by a federal judge in February 2026.

Tennessee’s parental consent law has survived legal challenges so far, and Storer said Nebraska’s approach was modeled in part on Tennessee’s.

The tracker of state social media laws maintained by the Age Verification Providers Association shows no legal challenge has been publicly filed against Nebraska’s law as of publication.

Nebraska leads among Midwest states on this issue

At least eight states have enacted laws banning minors from social media or requiring parental consent.

More than 45 states introduced related bills during the 2025 session alone, and 18 of them tried to pass their own versions of minor social media restrictions.

Nebraska’s law is considered one of the strictest, covering all minors under 18.

After Ohio’s law was permanently blocked, Nebraska became the only Midwestern state with an enacted social media parental consent law in place.

What Nebraska families should expect by July 2026

Parents of kids under 18 should expect new steps when their children try to join social media platforms after July 1, 2026. They will need to verify their own age and sign a consent form.

Once consent is in place, parents get access to monitoring tools built into the platform. The law applies only to new accounts created after that date.

Nebraska’s social media law is one of four bills the state passed this cycle aimed at protecting children online.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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