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State Children's Privacy Law Tracker / Ohio

Ohio Children's Privacy Laws (2026)

2 laws & bills tracked · overall: In force · current as of July 18, 2026

Ohio has 2 tracked children's privacy laws and bills, each listed below with its status, the ages it covers, litigation posture, and a link to the official primary source. For the interactive view, open Ohio in the tracker map.

App Store Accountability Act (HB 226 / SB 167, Meta-backed; competing HB 302 / SB 175, Google-backed; 136th GA) · HB 226 / SB 167 (136th GA); also HB 302 / SB 175

Pending: A bill was introduced this cycle but is not yet law. · App store · binds app stores, developers

Ages: under 16 / 16 and under (HB 226/SB 167); minors per Google-backed variants

Requires: (If enacted) app stores to verify the age of Ohio users, assign accounts to age categories, and obtain verifiable parental consent before a minor (16 and under under HB 226/SB 167) downloads/purchases an app or makes in-app purchases; developers to receive age-category signals.

Primary source

Entry last reviewed

Social Media Parental Notification Act (HB 33, 135th GA budget; codified at R.C. 1349.09) · HB 33 (135th GA)

In force: Effective and enforceable today. · Social media · effective 2024-01-15 · binds operators, platforms

Ages: under 16

Requires: Verifiable parental/legal-guardian consent before a child under 16 can register for or contract to use a covered social media platform; operators must provide notice of moderation/content policies to the parent.

Litigation: NetChoice, LLC v. Yost, No. 25-3371 (6th Cir.): panel reversed the district court's permanent injunction 2-1 on 2026-06-18 (Clay, J., lead; Batchelder, J. concurring in the judgment; Ritz, J. dissenting), directing judgment for the Ohio AG, with mandate to issue per the opinion. The Sixth Circuit granted NetChoice a two-week extension to decide on further review; NetChoice then filed a petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc on or about 2026-07-16, which the court had not yet ruled on. Under FRAP 41(b), a timely rehearing petition automatically stays issuance of the mandate, so the mandate has NOT issued and the Sixth Circuit's reversal is not yet final. No enforcement action by the Ohio AG has been reported while the petition is pending.

Primary source

Entry last reviewed

Also on the books (out of scope): Ohio HB 96 (FY26-27 budget) age-verification provision, codified at R.C. 1349.10, requires adult-content sites to verify users are 18+; signed June 30, 2025, in effect since Sept. 30, 2025.; Ohio HB 84 'The Innocence Act' (136th GA; reintroduced from HB 295, 135th GA): standalone adult-content/pornography age-verification bill; passed the House 3/18/2026, pending in Senate Judiciary. Out-of-scope mandates (like adult-content age-gates) are tracked separately and don't set this state's status.

Federal · COPPAapplies here too

Regardless of state law, COPPA governs personal information collected from children under 13: notice, verifiable parental consent, data minimization, and (under the 2025 amended Rule) limits on retention and third-party sharing.

Source

How Ohio compares

Not legal advice. I build products for a living; I'm not a lawyer. Compiled from primary sources and reviewed monthly as part of the State Children's Privacy Law Tracker; AI-assisted research, verified against each law's official source, but laws and injunctions change fast, so confirm the latest before relying on it. Related: COPPA's Gray Areas.

Cite this page: Calvo, Isaac A. "Ohio: Children's Privacy Laws." isaaccalvo.com/child-privacy-laws/ohio (data as of 2026-07-18).