12-03-2025
Utah's latest data and social media laws could ‘change the world,' Gov. Cox says
Utah lawmakers passed laws requiring app stores to verify the age of their customers, and social media companies to share more data. (Photo by)
Utah lawmakers passed two first-of-a-kind bills this legislative session that take aim at social media and tech companies.
One of them has the potential to 'change the world,' Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in the early morning hours Saturday, after lawmakers officially wrapped up the 45-day legislative session.
'I mean that sincerely, we're the first state to do it. It may be the most important thing we've done for a generation,' Cox said, pointing to freshman Rep. Doug Feifia, R-Herriman.
Cox was referring to Feifia's HB418, which could dramatically change the way social media companies interact with their customers, directing them to create a data sharing system similar to how different cell phone carriers operate — an AT&T customer can call a Verizon customer, and Feifia thinks that standard should apply to social media.
And Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, sponsored SB142 which would require Google and Apple to verify the ages of their customers before they make app store purchases.
In the early days of cell phones, customers often couldn't communicate with people on different networks. For instance, AT&T customers could only call people with AT&T phone plans — and if they wanted to switch carriers, they couldn't take their number with them.
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, cell phone carriers moved towards interoperability, which essentially means communicating and sharing data from different platforms. Fiefia is hoping to push social media companies in a similar direction.
'That's what we're seeing done in tech today, they have what we're calling walled gardens,' said Feifia. 'They've locked us into their platform, and essentially we can only call and communicate with those who are within that platform.'
His bill, HB418, passed the legislature this year with bipartisan support, making Utah the first state to approve a law pushing social media companies towards interoperability.
Today, your cellphone number belongs to you. If you want to switch carriers, you don't need to switch numbers. And you can call whoever you want, regardless of their phone plan. Feifia's bill, in a way, directs tech companies to view your personal data similar to how telecommunication companies view your phone number.
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Under Feifia's bill, if you want to leave a social media platform, you can take your data with you. If you want to communicate or share content with people on a different platform, you can. If you want to leave a platform, you can make sure the platform isn't still using your data for advertising purposes.
It might sound like a big ask for social media companies, but Fiefia says it's something they already do.
The bill centers around what's called an interoperability interface, an existing idea that allows different systems to work together, share data and communicate. It's basically what already exists on Meta's platforms, where users can connect their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
'It's something that is already being used, and a lot of tech companies are already moving that direction,' he said on Tuesday. 'We're kind of just speeding that process up and also giving back ownership of data back to users.'
What exactly that would look like is still unclear, and mostly up to tech companies. The bill takes effect in July 2026, which Fiefia said gives companies time to figure out how to achieve interoperability. Users could have a personal identification number that links their various social media accounts, Users could also have multiple account numbers if, for instance, they don't want to connect their LinkedIn page with an anonymous X account.
The mechanics behind how they get there is up to the companies, as long as the interface does the following:
If you build a network of friends, messages and posts on one platform, you should be able to transfer that information to another platform. Tech companies currently don't do that because they want to keep users locked in, Fiefia said.
Users should be able to share content across different platforms without what Fiefia calls 'unnecessary restrictions.'
If someone doesn't want a tech company to keep their data when they leave, they should be able to remove it completely.
Most of the bill revolves around a user's consent. They should be able to download or port their data, or move it onto another platform if they don't agree with their existing platform's ideology, safety measures or other terms or conditions. If a tech company wants to do anything with your data, it needs your consent first.
'It allows the user to decide what happens with their data and information, versus being stuck and losing all of it once TikTok shuts down, for example,' Fiefia said.
Fiefia's bill received an endorsement from Jonathan Haidt, the author of the book 'The Anxious Generation,' which examines the impact smartphones and social media have on teen mental health. And Cox, on the final day of the legislative session, said it was one of the most exciting bills this year.
'I don't even know if the Legislature really understands how groundbreaking that piece of legislation is. I mean, this is getting attention all over the world,' said Cox in an interview with Utah News Dispatch on Friday.
It's the first bill of its kind to pass through a state legislature. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, of Virginia, has proposed similar legislation at the federal level, although it has not been voted on yet. Six other states are considering bills that mirror Fiefia's.
'These tech companies, they are taking our data and information, informing an algorithm and using that to sell it to advertisers for billions of dollars,' Fiefia said. 'They are literally trading our free will for profit margin, and I think it's something that needs to change.'
Lawmakers also took aim at app stores this year, passing the first bill in the country requiring app stores to verify the ages of customers.
Sponsored by Weiler, SB142 nearly passed unanimously, receiving just one 'no' vote in the Senate and three in the House.
The bill mostly targets Apple and Google, which run the country's two major app stores, requiring them to verify a user's age. Weiler said companies could use a credit card as age verification.
If the user is identified as a minor, the bill would require the app store to tie their account to a parent or guardian's account — the minor would need parental approval before they download any app that requires a terms of service agreement.
Those terms of service agreements are binding contracts that allow app developers to access the device's data, microphone, camera and more — in no other circumstance are minors allowed to enter into a binding contract, said Weiler, comparing it to letting a child sign a rental car agreement. He described it as 'a contract bill.'
'Those terms and conditions can give that company access to their camera, their microphone. They're consenting that their data can be collected and shared,' Weiler said earlier in the session.
Unlike past social media laws, some of the country's largest tech companies were on board with Weiler's bill.
'We applaud Utah for putting parents in charge with its landmark legislation and urge Congress to follow suit,' reads a joint statement from Meta, X and Snap.
'Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child's age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way,' the companies said. 'The app store is the best place for it, and more than a quarter of states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play.'
Weiler's bill also creates a private right of action, holding developers accountable if they misrepresent the app's content, allowing parents to bring legal action under Utah's deceptive advertising laws.
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