How Virginia's new social media limits could impact families, young content creators

RICHMOND, Va. (7News) — Virginia is preparing to put new limits on how much time kids can spend on social media, part of a growing effort by state leaders to address youth mental health and online safety.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, social media users under the age of 16 in Virginia will be limited to just an hour per day on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, unless a parent or guardian gives verifiable consent for more screen time.

The new law, signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in early 2025, amends Virginia's Consumer Data Protection Act and places new responsibilities directly on social media companies operating in the state.

“We are gonna see kids on these Apps less and we’re going to see them engaged more with their academics and their friends or whatever they’re doing," Virginia State Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg, one of the co-sponsors of the new law, told 7News Friday.

VanValkenburg anticipates there will be difficulties in the enforcement of the new law, such as teens circumventing the age-verification process, but he said, like the recent cell phone ban in public schools, "we don’t want perfect to be the enemy of the good because we know that good can be really good.”

Under the measure, social media platforms must:

• Verify users' ages using neutral and commercially reasonable methods
• Enforce a one-hour daily limit for users under 16
• Use any collected data solely for age verification purposes.

Parents will be able to provide consent for more screen time.

“I think it’s good to limit the amount of time they’re on social media. I don’t know what videos and information they have access to, so I think it’s good to kind of cut them off," Megan Cappella, a mother of two told 7News when asked about the new law.

Cappella's 13-year-old son surprised her Friday by revealing his average daily screen time was in excess of eleven hours.

“We shouldn’t have this one thing that’s taking up and sucking up so much of people’s times. It’s not healthy," VanValkenburg said.

Already, the new law faces legal challenges.

An organization called NetChoice, which represents social media companies like Meta and Google, filed a lawsuit in Virginia last month, claiming that limiting social media even for minors was a denial of their free speech rights.

“The Constitution leaves the power to decide what speech is appropriate for minors where it belongs: with their parents,” the lawsuit states.

NetChoice has won legal victories in other states by challenging screen-time restrictions on free-speech grounds.

Do you support legislation limiting social media use for minors?

RELATED COVERAGE | New Virginia law limits teens' social media to 1 hour daily: What parents should know

The original proposal to restrict social media access by minors included even broader restrictions, such as banning addictive content feeds and extending limits to all users under 18. Those provisions were ultimately removed, helping the bill gain wider support.

Exactly how the law will be enforced remains unclear. However, violations could result in fines under Virginia's existing consumer protection statutes.