The RESET Act would prohibit covered platforms from allowing individuals under 16 to create or maintain an account or profile. It applies to platforms defined as “covered platforms” under the TAKE IT DOWN framework.
The bill also requires a staged wind-down of existing minor accounts: identify them within 60 days of enactment, notify the user within 180 days, and terminate the account within 30 days after notification. Upon termination, the platform must delete all personal data tied to the minor, subject to licensing considerations.
It also creates a data-access right, allowing terminated minors to request a copy of their data within 90 days post-termination, delivered in a readable, portable format, with a 45-day response window. Enforcement rests with the Federal Trade Commission, with explicit state-level action available and with an effective date one year after enactment.
The bill also defines a “minor” as anyone under 16.
At a Glance
What It Does
Prohibits under-16 users from creating or maintaining accounts on covered platforms and establishes a phased shutdown for existing minor accounts, including data deletion and an after-termination data-access right.
Who It Affects
Covered platforms (as defined by the TAKE IT DOWN Act), and minors under 16; their guardians; platform compliance teams; regulators at the FTC and state attorneys general.
Why It Matters
Sets a uniform federal baseline for protecting youths online, clarifies data rights after termination, and creates a regulated path for enforcement that can deter exploitative data practices.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
This bill creates a federal rule that bars platforms from letting anyone under 16 create or keep an account on platforms that qualify as 'covered platforms.' It builds a concrete transition path: within 60 days, platforms must identify which accounts belong to minors; within 180 days, they must notify those users; within 30 days after notification, those accounts must be terminated. Once terminated, platforms must immediately delete the minor’s personal data, while offering the minor a 90-day window to request a copy of data already collected or submitted, provided in a readable, portable format and delivered within 45 days of the request.
Enforcement rests with the FTC, but states may also sue to enforce the act on residents within their borders. The act’s provisions take effect one year after enactment.
The definition of minor for purposes of the act is anyone under 16. The bill uses existing definitions and frameworks (notably the TAKE IT DOWN Act for “covered platform”) to determine scope and compliance.
In short, it creates a clear, enforceable standard for removing minors from platforms and for handling the resulting data rights and enforcement responsibilities.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill prohibits minors under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on covered platforms.
Platforms must identify minor accounts within 60 days of enactment.
Platforms must notify affected minors within 180 days and terminate within 30 days of notification.
Upon termination, platforms must delete all personal data associated with the minor immediately.
Terminated minors may request a copy of their data within 90 days, with a 45-day response, and FTC enforcement applies.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
The act is officially cited as the Reducing Exploitative Social Media Exposure for Teens Act, or the RESET Act. This section establishes the act’s naming convention and sets the stage for its statutory scope.
Prohibition on accounts and profiles for minors
This section prohibits a covered platform from allowing an account or profile for any individual the platform knows is a minor. It requires identification of such accounts within 60 days of enactment, notification to the minor within 180 days, and termination within 30 days after notification. It also mandates the immediate deletion of all personal data tied to the terminated account, subject to licensing constraints, and creates an optional data-access right for the minor (and can be exercised within 90 days) to obtain a copy of their data in a readable, portable format, with the platform obligated to provide it within 45 days.
Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and State actions
The section makes violations of the prohibition subject to FTC regulation and enforcement authorities under the FTC Act. It grants the FTC the same powers it exercises over general unfair or deceptive acts or practices and allows state attorneys general to bring actions on behalf of residents. It also describes procedural mechanics for notices of state actions and clarifies how federal actions interact with state enforcement.
Relationship to other laws; effective date; definitions
The act prohibits States from maintaining laws that would undermine its provisions, preserving a federal baseline. It sets an effective date of one year after enactment unless otherwise specified and provides definitions for key terms, including ‘covered platform’ (as defined by the TAKE IT DOWN Act), ‘minor’ (under 16), and ‘personal data’ (per the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act framework). These definitional anchors clarify scope and compliance expectations.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Privacy across all five countries.
Explore Privacy in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Minors under 16 who would be shielded from account creation and from ongoing data collection on covered platforms, reducing exposure to exploitative practices.
Who Bears the Cost
- Covered platforms face new compliance overhead, system changes to identify and terminate minor accounts, and data deletion responsibilities.
- Platform legal and engineering teams must implement processes for age-detection, account termination, and data-portability features.
- State attorneys general and the FTC gain a clear statutory basis to pursue enforcement—potentially increasing regulatory activity and resource needs.
- Parents and guardians gain clearer protections and controls over their children’s digital footprints.
- Privacy-focused advocacy groups gain a policy tool to promote youth data protections.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing strong youth data protections with the practicality and cost of enforcing age-based prohibitions on global platforms, especially given cross-border data flows, licensing constraints, and the need for robust age-verification mechanisms.
The bill creates a robust framework for removing minors from covered platforms and handling their data, but it raises practical questions about age verification, false positives, and the handling of legacy data. Verifying that a user is a minor can be technically challenging, risking misclassification or delayed action.
The directive to delete personal data immediately upon termination must be balanced against existing data-retention requirements and licensing agreements; the bill allows a data-access window but does not specify exceptions for legal holds or ongoing legal obligations. The interplay with state enforcement and the possibility of parallel federal and state actions could create complex litigation landscapes, particularly if platforms operate across state lines and different compliance cultures.
Finally, while the data-portability right is salutary, it depends on platform capabilities to export data in interoperable formats, which may entail significant technical investment for large platforms.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.