Virginia — As of July 1st, 2025, Virginia is enforcing a new law that limits social media use to one hour per day for users under 16 years old. The law is designed to protect young people from the risks associated with excessive screen time and promote healthier digital habits. Social media companies have until January 1, 2026, to develop and implement systems that verify user ages and enforce the daily limit. Services that only offer direct messaging are exempt from the law. Parents will retain the ability to adjust their children’s daily screen time, either increasing or decreasing the limit.
While the legislation aims to set reasonable boundaries for minors online, challenges remain regarding enforcement and the possibility that tech-savvy teens will find ways to bypass restrictions. Some critics argue that decisions about screen time should remain in the hands of families rather than lawmakers. The law requires platforms to use what Virginia calls “commercially reasonable methods” to confirm the ages of users before applying the time limits.
