Ohio’s new social media parental notification law begins mid-January

Passed at the behest of Lt. Gov. Jon Husted as part of the state’s operating budget earlier this year, the law will impact brands like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Twitch, YouTube and many other online platforms.

If a platform either fails to provide parental notification or if a parent wants to terminate their child’s account, Ohio parents can submit a formal request to the platform, which then has 30 days to terminate the account, according to a Wednesday release from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office is tasked with enforcing the law. If the account is still operational after that window, parents can file a complaint with the AG’s office.

“This law aims to give parents more control over their children creating new social media accounts,” Yost said. “So just like any other time, if you feel like you’ve been wronged by a company, we take those complaints and work to resolve any issues — this is no different.”

Ohio parents can file their complaints with the A.G.’s office at OhioProtects.org.