During a high-profile U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on January 31, 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed online child safety. When pressed by lawmakers, Zuckerberg stated he believed no one under the age of 13 should use social media and expressed support for age verification measures. He also endorsed the concept of requiring parental consent for teenagers aged 13 to 16 to download apps.
The hearing, which also included the CEOs of TikTok, X, Snap, and Discord, focused on the platforms' roles in child sexual exploitation and mental health harms. Zuckerberg's comments were part of a broader discussion on potential legislative solutions, such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which aims to create a duty of care for tech companies to protect minors.
As of April 2026, no federal law in the United States universally bans minors from social media or mandates parental consent for app downloads, though several states have enacted or proposed their own age verification laws. Meta's current policy prohibits users under 13 and offers some parental supervision tools for teen accounts through its Family Center.
