Rules
Denver and Colorado youth social media rules, age verification and what parents must know
Teen safety in Colorado now turns on state youth social media rules, Denver age-verification fights, and federal COPPA limits. Here is what families must do.
What to take away
- No Colorado law in force today requires a social media platform to verify the age of every user. Age-verification bills have been filed and none has been enacted.
- The Colorado Privacy Act, effective July 1, 2023, is what binds platforms now. It requires consent before processing personal data of a known child under 13.
- The Colorado Attorney General enforces that through the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, with penalties up to $20,000 per violation.
- Federal COPPA sets the under-13 floor, and the FTC is amending it.
- Families still carry the daily workcheck each platform's age rules, keep supervision settings on, and log any age check.
What Colorado actually enforces
No Colorado statute requires a platform to verify every user's age. The Colorado Privacy Act and federal COPPA are the rules that apply.
The Colorado Privacy Act took effect on July 1, 2023. It treats personal data of a known child under 13 as sensitive data, so a company needs consent before processing it. That is a narrow duty, not a general age gate.
Enforcement belongs to the Colorado Attorney General. Violations run through the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, which allows penalties up to $20,000 per violation. The 60-day cure period ended on January 1, 2025.
Colorado bills that would add platform-side age checks and parental consent for teenagers have been filed in recent sessions. None has become an enforceable mandate. Reading teen social media use laws with a skeptical eye helps you tell a filed bill from a live rule.
Federal COPPA covers data collected from children under 13 and requires verifiable parental consent in many cases. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule holds the full text and the FTC's enforcement authority. States may go further, not weaker.
Which rules are live, proposed, or paused
| Rule | Jurisdiction | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Privacy Act, C.R.S. 6-1-1301 et seq. | Colorado | In force since July 1, 2023 |
| Age-verification and parental-consent bills | Colorado | Filed in recent sessions, not enacted |
| COPPA Rule | Federal | In force, under FTC amendment |
| Texas HB 18 (SCOPE Act) | Texas | Largely in effect after a 2024 appeals ruling |
| California Age-Appropriate Design Code | California | Blocked by a preliminary injunction upheld on appeal |
| Arkansas Act 689 | Arkansas | Struck down in 2024 |
| Utah app store age-check law | Utah | Enacted, enforcement delayed |
Two things follow. Federal amendment work runs through the FTC rulemaking process. Court losses in Arkansas and California show how narrow the path is for a state that wants age checks.
Which US states require age checks for social media lists what signup screens actually ask you to provide.
Example: an age check on a mainstream app in Denver
Denver runs no age-verification scheme of its own. What a Denver teen sees at signup comes from the platform, shaped by federal and state law.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, puts accounts it believes belong to under-16s into Teen Accounts. Those default to private, limit messages from strangers, and require a parent to approve some setting changes.
When a user tries to move a stated age from under 13 to adult, Meta can ask for a video selfie or a government ID first.
Google runs a different model. A YouTube account for a child under 13 runs through a supervised account tied to a parent, while age-restricted videos prompt an ID or credit card check.
Steps Denver families should take this month
Under current rules, a household has three must-dos: check each platform's own age rules, keep account settings accurate, and log every verification request. Family rules still do the work that platform tools only support, and parental controls changes deserve a look each year because controls get renamed, merged, or cut when an app updates.
Family account setup steps
- Review each platform's current requirements
- Decide together on age verification
- Correct age and birth date on accounts
- Turn on strongest minor privacy settings
- Check linked family, school, gaming accounts
- Save verification dates and requests
- List every app your teen uses, and mark the ones that asked for proof of age.
- Open the family or supervision settings on each app, and switch on the strictest privacy defaults offered.
- Set direct messages to contacts only, and turn off recommendations from accounts your teen does not follow.
- Note the date, the method, and the result of every age check, so a complaint later has evidence.
- Re-check linked accounts, including your email, a school Google account, or a gaming profile.
Run the full review once a semester. It takes about an hour and covers what no platform will do for you.
Semester teen safety checklist
- List every social account
- Check and correct birth dates
- Turn on strongest privacy settings
- Review direct message settings
- Confirm parental controls and passwords
- Save reporting links
- Agree on weekly check-in
Reporting a platform that ignored a safety complaint
Start inside the app, then escalate. For a privacy failure involving a child's data, complain to the FTC. Its children's privacy guidance sets out the duties a platform owes, which helps you describe the breach.
Colorado consumer protection complaints go to the Colorado Attorney General. If a minor was exploited, use the NCMEC CyberTipline. Our guide to reporting cyberbullying and sextortion to the CyberTipline and police explains what to put in the first report.
School problems go to the district. Phone and account policies differ across Colorado districts, so ask your school what it requires.
