Louisiana Children’s Privacy Laws (2026)

HB 977 (Act 185), superseding HB 570 (Act 481); R.S. 51:1771-1775

Enacted, not yet effective · App store · effective 2027-07-01 · binds app stores, developers

Ages: under 18 (with 13-15 and 16-17 sub-tiers)

Requires: Covered app store providers must, when an individual located in Louisiana creates an account, request age information and verify the individual's age category (child under 13, younger teenager 13-15, older teenager 16-17, adult) using commercially available methods reasonably designed to ensure accuracy (for an under-18, a method counts if it includes affirmative age attestation by someone reasonably believed to be the parent or legal guardian). For a minor (under 18, not emancipated or married) the store must affiliate the account with a parent account and obtain verifiable parental consent before the minor downloads or purchases an app, accesses a pre-loaded app or enables in-app purchases, and renewed consent after a developer-reported significant change; before consent it must give the parent a disclosure that includes the app's age rating and content description where the store has them and the personal data the app collects and shares. Developers must verify users' age category and consent status through the store's data-sharing methods, notify the store of significant changes and, unless they must age-verify at the application level under R.S. 9:2800.29, use the verified age signal from the app store or operating system to enforce age restrictions and age-appropriate defaults. Neither a store nor a developer may enforce a contract or terms of service against a minor without verifiable parental consent, and developers may not sell age category data. AG-enforced after 45 days' written notice and a cure opportunity, with civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation; a store that shows a good-faith effort to comply, or a developer that shows it complied with R.S. 51:1773, is not liable.

Litigation: None known: NetChoice's litigation center lists only NetChoice v. Murrill (Act 456) for Louisiana, CCIA's litigation page lists no Louisiana case, and RECAP searches of the Louisiana federal courts and the Fifth Circuit found no challenge; the Part's duties are not operative before 2027-07-01.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

In force · Social media · effective 2025-07-01 · binds platforms, operators

Ages: under 18

Requires: Social media platforms with more than one million account holders globally that operate in Louisiana may not display targeted advertising to a minor account holder (a Louisiana resident the platform has actual knowledge is under 18 and not emancipated or married) or sell a minor account holder's sensitive personal data. A platform is not liable for data processing done in reasonable efforts to determine residency or while it chooses to estimate age, or for an erroneous determination. AG-enforced after 45 days' written notice and a cure opportunity, with civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation.

Litigation: None known.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

HB 123 (2024 RS, Act 16), amending and reenacting the section enacted by HB 61 (2023 RS, Act 440); R.S. 9:2717.2

In force · Social media · effective 2024-05-08 · binds operators, platforms

Ages: under 18 (not emancipated)

Requires: No interactive computer service (any information service, system or access software provider that gives multiple users access to a computer server, expressly including internet access providers and systems or services of libraries or educational institutions) may contract with a minor, including by creating an online account, without the consent of the minor's legal representative: the written authority of a parent with legal authority over the minor or of the minor's tutor as confirmed or appointed by the court. Third parties may collect that consent, including one consent covering several minors or several services. Minor means anyone under 18 who is not emancipated. The only consequence the section provides is contractual: a contract made without the legal representative's express consent is a relative nullity, which under Civil Code art. 2031 may be invoked only by those for whose protection the rule exists, may not be raised by a court on its own, and may be confirmed; the section adds that any confirmation must be express and in writing. It names no regulator, penalty, fine, Attorney General role or cure process and leaves the Civil Code's contractual-capacity rules in place. The practical exposure is unenforceable terms: account terms and other contracts with a user under 18 that are subject to Louisiana law can be set aside by or for the minor unless a parent or tutor gave written consent (the section itself states no territorial limit; the 2023 text's Louisiana-domicile clause was struck in the 2024 reenactment, so ordinary jurisdiction and choice-of-law rules decide its reach). Obtaining the representative's written consent before the contract is formed avoids the relative-nullity exposure; a later express written confirmation can also cure it. It also supplies the account, interactive computer service and minor definitions that R.S. 9:2717.2.1 (Act 618 of 2026) adopts, and the minor definition that R.S. 9:2717.4 (Act 236 of 2025) adopts.

Timing: effective 2024-05-08, the day the Governor signed Act 16 of 2024 (HB 123), which amended and reenacted the section, repealed the 2024-08-01 start date that Act 440 of 2023 had set for the original text, and took effect on signature; the codified source credit reads Acts 2024, No. 16, §§1, 2, eff. May 8, 2024, and the section has operated only in its 2024 form

Litigation: No challenge identified in RECAP searches of the Louisiana federal courts and the Fifth Circuit or on NetChoice's and CCIA's litigation pages; NetChoice's only Louisiana case (NetChoice v. Murrill) targets SB 162/Act 456.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

HB 37 (2025 RS, Act 236), amended before taking effect by HB 427 (2026 RS, Act 552); R.S. 9:2717.4

Enacted, not yet effective · Social media · effective 2027-01-01 · binds platforms, operators

Ages: under 18 (not emancipated)

Requires: Covered platforms (online platforms, online video games, messaging apps and video streaming services used by minors) that contract with a minor, including by opening an account, owe the minor a duty of care and must ship these defaults on minor accounts: either bar adults from connecting to the minor without the legal representative's express consent or give the legal representative, through the platform's parental supervision tools, a list of the minor's connections and direct-message contacts; bar adults from direct-messaging a minor they are not connected to; never share the minor's precise geolocation with anyone but the legal representative or authorized law enforcement; set the account to private mode so only connected users can view or respond to the minor's posts; and let the legal representative opt in to notice when the minor is exposed to material harmful to minors (R.S. 51:2121) or, if the legal representative is not linked through supervision tools, when the minor makes a new connection. Linked legal representatives must be able to manage settings, view and block connections, and limit microtransactions; only a legal representative linked through the supervision tools can change the defaults, while any legal representative can opt the minor out of the protections by giving the platform express consent. Minor means anyone under 18 who is not emancipated (R.S. 9:2717.2). AG-enforced: written notice, a 45-day cure window, then civil fines up to $10,000 per violation. This describes the text as amended by HB 427 (2026 RS, Act 552, signed 2026-05-29), the version the codified section now carries; the 2025 text's under-16 definition and sexually-explicit-material notice trigger were superseded by Act 552 before the date the legislature's codification assigns to the section.

Timing: effective 2027-01-01 for the whole section. Enrolled Act 236 Section 2 set 2026-06-01, but Act 552 (HB 427), signed 2026-05-29, repealed that section in its entirety and its Section 3 provides that Act 236 Section 1 and Act 552 both take effect 2027-01-01; the source credit on the legislature's codified R.S. 9:2717.4 records both acts as effective on that date, and this entry follows that codification; no court has construed the sequence.

Litigation: None known against Act 236 (distinct from the SB 162/Act 456 injunction); a RECAP search of the Louisiana federal district courts and the Fifth Circuit for the act's name and R.S. 9:2717.4 found no challenge.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

HB 134 (2026 RS, Act 618); R.S. 9:2717.2.1

Enacted, not yet effective · Social media · effective 2027-01-01 · binds platforms, operators

Ages: under 18 (not emancipated)

Requires: Any interactive computer service that contracts with a minor, including by opening an online account, may not deliver or display to a minor account material harmful to minors that the service itself created or developed, in whole or in part. Account, interactive computer service and minor take their R.S. 9:2717.2 meanings (minor is anyone under 18 who is not emancipated; interactive computer service is any information service, system or access software provider that gives multiple users access to a computer server), and material harmful to minors takes its R.S. 51:2121 meaning: a three-part test, all parts required, for material that appeals to the prurient interest with respect to minors, depicts listed sexual conduct or nudity in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors. So the duty covers sexual content, not a general harmful-content standard, and only content the service created or developed: user content the service did not develop is outside the text. Any interactive computer service that contracts with minors is covered; the text is not confined to adult-content sites and imposes no age-verification duty. AG-enforced only: written notice of each alleged violation, a 45-day cure by written statement, then suit only for failure to cure or a repeat violation, civil fines up to $10,000 per violation plus the AG's fees and costs; no private right of action.

Litigation: No challenge identified in RECAP searches of the Louisiana federal courts and the Fifth Circuit or on NetChoice's and CCIA's litigation pages; the duty is not operative before 2027-01-01.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

Enacted, enjoined · Social media · effective 2024-07-01 · binds platforms, operators

Ages: under 16

Requires: Social media companies (providers of a social media platform with at least five million account holders worldwide) must either make commercially reasonable efforts to verify the age of Louisiana account holders, with a level of certainty appropriate to the risks of their information management practices, or apply the Act's protections for minors to all account holders. They may not let a Louisiana resident who is a minor (someone the company reasonably believes or knows is under 16 and not emancipated or married) hold an account without the express consent of a parent or guardian, obtained by a listed method (a signed form, a toll-free call, a video call, a government-ID check, or an email reply plus identity verification) or another commercially reasonable one. For a minor's account they must bar adults from direct-messaging the minor unless already connected, bar advertising based on the minor's personal information other than age and location, limit collection and use of personal information from the account's posts, messages and activity to what is adequate, relevant and reasonably necessary for the disclosed purpose, and give a consenting parent a way to start account supervision (view privacy settings, set daily time limits, schedule breaks). Enforced exclusively by the Department of Justice's Public Protection Division after 45 days' written notice and a cure opportunity, with administrative fines or civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation.

Timing: effective 2024-07-01 under enrolled Act 456 Section 3, the date the legislature's bill page and codified source credit record. Act 656 of 2024 (HB 577) amended that section to read July 1, 2025, but Act 656 itself took effect only on 2025-07-01, and the note on the legislature's codified R.S. 51:1752 says Act 456 became effective 2024-07-01. The district court in NetChoice v. Murrill states that the Act became effective 2025-07-01, and the State agreed not to enforce it before 2025-12-19.

Litigation: NetChoice v. Murrill, No. 3:25-cv-00231 (M.D. La.). On 2025-12-15 the court granted NetChoice summary judgment on its as-applied First Amendment challenge, declared R.S. 51:1751-1754 unconstitutional as applied to ten NetChoice members identified by the parties, and permanently enjoined enforcement of R.S. 51:1751-1756 against those members only: Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Nextdoor, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap (Snapchat), X, YouTube, Automattic (Tumblr), Discord and Amazon (Twitch). The court did not reach the facial challenge, so the injunction does not cover other social media companies the Act reaches. The State had agreed not to enforce the Act before 2025-12-19. The State's appeal of the judgment, No. 26-30016 (5th Cir.), was argued 2026-09-01; no decision has issued, and no stay of the injunction appears on the public dockets. A second State appeal, No. 26-30223, is from the district court's 2026-03-18 ruling denying the State fees and costs over an excluded NetChoice expert report, not from the injunction.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01

SB 386 (Act 502)

Enacted, not yet effective · Privacy law (minors) · effective 2027-01-01 · binds operators, platforms

Ages: known child under 13 (COPPA-aligned)

Requires: Louisiana's new comprehensive consumer privacy law (Texas-model), which reaches entities doing business in Louisiana that have annual gross revenues over $25 million, buy, receive, sell or share the personal information of 75,000 or more consumers, households or devices, or derive at least half their annual revenue from selling personal information, makes personal data collected from a 'known child' sensitive data; a child is under 13, and a known child is one whose age the controller actually knows or willfully disregards. A controller may not process sensitive data without the consumer's consent or, for a known child's sensitive data, without processing it in accordance with COPPA's rules, regulations and exceptions (R.S. 51:1780.4(A)(2)(d)), and a controller or processor that complies with COPPA's verifiable parental consent requirements is treated as meeting any parental-consent requirement in the law. Parents/legal guardians may exercise the law's access, correction, deletion, portability, and opt-out rights on a known child's behalf. It is a general consumer privacy statute (not a kids-only law), so only its minors-specific provisions bring it into scope here.

Timing: core obligations effective 2027-01-01, when exclusive Attorney General enforcement also begins (there is no private right of action). From 2027-01-01 through 2027-07-31, before bringing an action the AG must notify the person in writing, identifying the provisions allegedly violated, at least 30 days before initiating an investigation, and may not initiate it if within that period the person cures the violation, gives a written statement and supporting documentation, and changes internal policy where necessary. That mandatory cure right sunsets 2027-07-31, so from 2027-08-01 the statute no longer requires the AG to give notice or offer a cure

Litigation: None known: no challenge identified in RECAP searches of the Louisiana federal courts and the Fifth Circuit or on NetChoice's and CCIA's litigation pages; the law is not operative before 2027-01-01.

Entry last reviewed 2026-10-01