Georgia Senators File Bipartisan Bills to Protect Kids Online

ATLANTA (February 24, 2026) - Members of the Senate Study Committee on the Impact of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence on Children and Platform Privacy Protection filed two bills this week designed to mitigate harms to children online.

The Study Committee met throughout the fall of 2025, hearing testimony from parents, educators, mental health professionals, law enforcement and technology experts. These bills stem from the committee's final recommendations to reduce online risks, ensure that technology companies are accountable for the safety of young users, provide stronger privacy protections for kids and help alleviate the burden on parents of keeping kids safe online.

Study Committee Co-Chair Sen. Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta) filed Senate Bill 495 to limit harmful design features and excessive data collection, require strong default privacy settings and give minors and parents greater control over personal data. It requires companies to assess the risks posed by compulsive-use features and to increase transparency about how algorithms affect young users.

"Parents across Georgia are doing everything they can to keep their kids safe online, but the digital world makes that nearly impossible," said Sen. Harrell. "This bill gets at the crux of the problem by focusing on platform design and data practices rather than speech, so it protects kids without infringing on First Amendment rights. It helps shift some of the responsibility back to the companies that build these products, instead of leaving parents to carry the entire burden on their own."

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth), filed Senate Bill 488 to clarify that generative AI systems are products under Georgia law, allowing children harmed by these systems to pursue commonsense claims against manufacturers or sellers.

"This bill is about establishing clear responsibility, not stifling innovation," said Sen. Setzler. "Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly and bringing enormous opportunities, but when products cause harm, there must be basic accountability. By applying existing product-liability principles to generative AI, we can protect consumers while still allowing innovators to develop and deploy new technologies."

The majority of these provisions in both measures would take effect January 1, 2027.

SB 495 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Children and Families, where it will be heard today. SB 488 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, where it awaits further deliberation.

More information on SB 495 can be found here.

More information on SB 488 can be found here.

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Sen. Sally Harrell represents the 40^th Senate District, which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. She may be reached by phone at (404) 656-7871 or by email at [email protected].

Sen. Ed Setzler serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology. He represents the 37th Senate District, which includes portions of Bartow and Cobb counties. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0256 or by email at [email protected].

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