Virginia's New Social Media Rules for Minors: What Businesses Need to Know in 2026

The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change and individual circumstances vary. Consult a licensed Virginia attorney about your specific situation. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship nor does merely contacting our office through this website or any other means.

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Over the past several years, Virginia has joined a growing number of states enacting legislation specifically designed to protect minors on digital platforms. For businesses operating apps, websites, or platforms that minors might use, including technology startups in the Blacksburg corridor and small businesses across the New River Valley that run consumer-facing digital products, understanding the requirements of Virginia’s social media and minors legislation is increasingly important.

This article outlines the framework established under Virginia law governing social media access by minors, the intersection with federal law, and the practical steps covered businesses should take.

Virginia’s Social Media Parental Consent Requirements

Virginia enacted legislation addressing social media access by minors that establishes obligations for covered platforms operating in the Commonwealth. The core requirement is that social media companies must obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing a minor to create an account or access certain features.

The Virginia law defines covered platforms broadly to include social media companies that operate interactive computer services allowing users to create public or semi-public profiles, connect with other users, and share user-generated content. The legislation is aimed primarily at commercial platforms designed to attract and retain minors as users.

Key obligations under Virginia’s framework include:

• Age verification: Covered platforms must implement reasonable methods to verify the age of account holders or prospective account holders.
• Parental consent: Before a minor under age 16 may create an account or access regulated features, the platform must obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian.
• Data limitations: Platforms subject to the law face restrictions on collecting, using, and sharing personal data of minor users beyond what is necessary to provide the service.
• Default settings: Certain privacy and safety settings must default to the most protective options for minor users.

Virginia’s law has been amended and refined through successive General Assembly sessions, and businesses should verify that they are reviewing the most current version of the statute and any implementing guidance from the Attorney General’s office.

What Platforms Are Covered

Not every website or app with users under 18 is a covered social media platform under Virginia law. The statutes generally focus on platforms where:

• A primary purpose is facilitating social interaction among users
• Users can create profiles and connect with other users
• The platform is commercially operated and not a nonprofit educational service

Educational tools, internal business communication platforms, and services that do not involve user-generated social content typically fall outside the definition. However, businesses that operate apps or platforms that include social or community features alongside their primary service should assess whether those features bring the platform within the law’s scope.

Virginia Tech and other higher education institutions have generated a significant number of technology startups in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and throughout Montgomery County. Founders of consumer applications should evaluate coverage early in their product development process rather than retroactively.

Intersection with Federal COPPA

Virginia’s social media law operates alongside, and does not preempt, the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. COPPA applies to commercial websites and online services directed to children under age 13 and to general-audience sites with actual knowledge that they are collecting information from children under 13.

COPPA requires:

• Posting a clear and comprehensive online privacy policy
• Providing direct notice to parents and obtaining verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13
• Giving parents access to their child’s personal information and the right to delete it
• Not conditioning participation on a child disclosing more personal information than necessary

The FTC has significantly increased COPPA enforcement activity. Notable enforcement actions have resulted in substantial civil penalties against platforms that failed to implement required age-screening or parental consent mechanisms.

Virginia’s state law extends protections to minors between ages 13 and 15, a group not fully covered by COPPA. Businesses must therefore satisfy both federal and state requirements, which may demand separate compliance analyses.

Age Verification: Practical Challenges

Implementing reliable age verification is technically and operationally challenging. Common approaches include:

• Self-declaration: Asking users to enter their birthdate. This is easy to circumvent and may not satisfy “reasonable verification” standards under state law.
• Credit card or payment verification: Using a payment method associated with an adult as a proxy for age, though this excludes many legitimate adult users.
• Third-party age verification services: Dedicated services that use public records, document verification, or other methods to confirm age without retaining sensitive identity documents.
• Parental consent platforms: Services that facilitate parental verification and consent workflows, including COPPA-compliant consent mechanisms.

Virginia law does not prescribe a single method of verification but requires that the method be “reasonable” given the nature of the platform and the risk that minors will encounter regulated content or features. Platforms with higher engagement by younger users face greater scrutiny.

Enforcement and Liability

Virginia’s social media legislation is enforced by the Attorney General. The law generally provides a period for covered businesses to cure violations before civil penalties attach, consistent with the enforcement structure used elsewhere in Virginia’s consumer protection framework.

Penalties for willful violations can be substantial, and repeated failures to maintain appropriate age verification and parental consent systems can escalate enforcement risk.

Beyond state enforcement, the FTC has demonstrated willingness to pursue federal COPPA claims in parallel with state investigations. Businesses that experience a data incident involving minor users may face overlapping state and federal scrutiny.

Practical Compliance Steps

For Virginia businesses operating covered or potentially covered platforms, a compliance review should address the following:

• Determine coverage. Assess whether your platform meets the definition of a covered social media company under Virginia law and whether COPPA applies based on your audience.
• Audit your age-screening process. Evaluate whether your current onboarding flow reliably identifies minors and whether your verification method satisfies the “reasonable” standard.
• Implement or update parental consent workflows. Ensure that consent is obtained from a parent or guardian before a minor accesses regulated features, and document each consent.
• Review data practices for minor users. Confirm that data collection, use, and sharing for minor accounts is limited to what is necessary and consistent with disclosed purposes.
• Default to protective settings. Check that default privacy settings for minor accounts are configured to limit data sharing and public visibility.
• Update your privacy policy. Your privacy notice should accurately describe how you handle minor user data, parental consent processes, and parents’ rights to access and delete their child’s information.
• Train your team. Customer service, product, and engineering teams should understand your obligations so that policy changes or feature launches do not inadvertently affect compliance.

Working with Legal Counsel

The intersection of Virginia’s social media legislation with COPPA, the VCDPA, and sector-specific regulations creates a layered compliance environment. For businesses in the early stages of building a consumer platform, engaging an attorney familiar with both state and federal privacy law before launch can help identify design choices that create compliance risk.

For established businesses reviewing their current practices, a structured compliance audit can identify gaps and prioritize remediation steps. Given the pace of legislative change in this area, companies that serve younger users should plan for annual compliance reviews.

Businesses throughout the New River Valley, including those in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, and surrounding communities, can consult with a Virginia attorney to assess their specific obligations.

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This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Do not rely on this article to make decisions about your specific situation. Contact Valley Legal or another licensed Virginia attorney to discuss your case. Attorney advertising.

Valley Legal, PLLC is located at 107 Pepper St SE, Christiansburg, Virginia 24073, and serves clients throughout the New River Valley of Virginia, including Montgomery County, Blacksburg, Radford, Pulaski, and surrounding communities.