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Virginia has moved to rein in the tech giants by passing a law that will limit social media use for minors under 16 to one hour per day, with the restrictions taking effect on January 1, 2026. The measure amends the state’s consumer data protections and forces platforms to build default limits and controls into their services. This is a major step toward reasserting common-sense limits on an industry that treats kids like captive customers.
Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the bill after it cleared the General Assembly, signaling that leadership can act where Washington won’t. Legislators from both parties supported the change, reflecting growing unease about the mental-health fallout we’ve all watched unfold in real time. Lawmakers rightly put parents back in the driver’s seat instead of leaving children at the mercy of algorithmic junk food.
The statute doesn’t stop at time limits — it also requires platforms to use reasonable age-verification methods and to make parental consent verifiable before increasing a child’s allotted screen time. Those requirements are the only practical way to make a one-hour rule more than symbolic, because children and teens are notoriously adept at evading superficial safeguards. We shouldn’t pretend this is easy, but we should recognize that doing nothing is the real abdication of responsibility.
Unsurprisingly, Big Tech is fighting back. Industry groups like NetChoice have already filed suit, arguing that the law violates free-speech protections and raises privacy concerns tied to age verification. Expect this to be a drawn-out battle in the courts — tech giants will deploy lawyers and lobbyists to protect their business model rather than the well-being of children.
The lawsuits expose the real priorities: companies that engineered habit-forming feeds now cry foul when asked to be accountable. Conservatives who have long warned about unregulated tech addiction are vindicated by the surge in anxiety, depression, and disrupted childhoods linked to endless scrolling. If courts overturn protections, that will be a signal that judicial ideology, not the safety of kids, is steering the ship.
This law is not a panacea, and no one should pretend a government edict will fix every problem overnight. Enforcement details remain fuzzy and bad actors will try to find workarounds, so citizens must keep the pressure on platforms and demand transparent, enforceable tools for parents. Still, the conservative instinct to protect family autonomy and childhood from corporate profiteering is exactly the right instinct here.
Big Tech built its empires by monetizing attention and outsourcing responsibility; it’s high time elected leaders pushed back. Lawmakers who acted deserve credit for putting flesh-and-blood kids ahead of quarterly profits, and anyone who values real-world childhoods should support measures that restore boundaries. This fight will be decided in legislatures, in the courts, and in the marketplace of ideas — and conservatives should be unapologetically on the side of common sense and parental authority.
