According to TechRadar, an amendment to the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) officially came into effect on January 1st. The law mandates that social media platforms implement stricter protections for known minors, including limits on screen time and data collection. It specifically prohibits processing a minor’s personal data for targeted advertising or selling it without clear parental consent. The legislation also targets “addictive” feed mechanics, requiring platforms to disable features like infinite scrolling for younger users. The trade association NetChoice, representing companies like Meta and Google, filed a lawsuit against the law back in November, arguing it violates the First Amendment and compromises security. Despite this pending litigation, the law is now active, forcing platforms to navigate compliance or face potential fines.
The privacy paradox
Here’s the thing about laws designed to protect kids online: they often end up eroding privacy for everyone. To figure out who is a “known minor,” platforms basically have to check everyone’s age. That means more biometric analysis or, more likely, asking users to upload a government ID. So in an attempt to shield teens, Virginia might be creating a massive, tempting honeypot of sensitive identity data. Privacy experts have been screaming this from the rooftops for years. It’s no surprise that, as Axios reported, similar age-verification laws for adult sites in Virginia directly led to a spike in people searching for the best VPN services. You can expect exactly the same thing to happen here, but on a much broader scale.
A legal groundhog day
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen this movie before. NetChoice is basically running the same playbook it used in other states. And it’s been winning. Federal judges have already blocked similar social media age-verification laws in Louisiana and Arkansas, citing First Amendment concerns and the undue burden on free speech. The core argument is powerful: by forcing age checks, the state is effectively ending anonymous access to vast swaths of the web. Now, Virginia’s law is a bit different—it’s an amendment to an existing consumer data framework, not a standalone “social media ban”—but the fundamental tension is identical. Can the state compel a private company to verify identity in order to grant access to speech? The courts haven’t been kind to that idea so far.
The compliance maze
So what does “compliance” even look like right now? The law, as detailed in a state document, demands platforms default minors to the highest privacy settings, ban profiling them for ads, and limit their use. But how do you build a “time limit” feature for a 16-year-old that doesn’t also annoy a 40-year-old? And do platforms now have to design two different feeds—one with autoplay and gamification for adults, and a stripped-down, “boring” one for teens? The technical and design hurdles are enormous. For smaller apps, the cost of developing these dual systems could be crippling. The big players like Meta and TikTok might grumble and lawyer up, but they’ll probably find a way. The real losers could be the smaller, niche platforms that can’t afford the legal or engineering overhead.
The bigger picture
Look, Virginia’s law is just one piece of a nationwide puzzle. States are stepping in because Congress hasn’t. And while the goal of protecting kids from addictive algorithms and predatory data collection is 100% valid, the methods are incredibly clunky. As Biometric Update noted, this is a test of a “time limit” approach. But can you legislate good product design? The law is now active, but its future hinges entirely on the courts. In the meantime, get ready for more pop-ups asking for your ID just to see your cousin’s vacation photos. And maybe, just maybe, consider that VPN.
