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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana requires app stores to verify user ages and obtain parental consent before minors download applications
Last action · May 15, 2026: Effective date: See Act.Sponsor: Beau Beaullieu
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana enacted Act 185, requiring application store providers and software developers to verify user age categories, require parent account affiliation for minors, and obtain before minors can download, purchase, or access applications starting July 1, 2027.
App stores and software developers face civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation enforced by the attorney general if they allow minors to download apps or make in-app purchases without verified parental consent.
- House Bill 977 was enacted during the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law as Act 185. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
minors
Minors under eighteen must have a verified parent account and verifiable parental consent to download, purchase, or access applications and enable in-app purchases.
parents and legal guardians
Parents must provide verifiable consent and establish parent accounts linked to minor accounts before minors can access applications.
covered application store providers
App store providers must implement age verification systems, manage parent-minor account affiliations, protect age verification data, and notify developers of age status and consent changes.
developers
Software developers must verify user age categories and parental consent status through app store data sharing methods and enforce age-related restrictions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is required of app stores when a minor creates an account?
What penalties can companies face for violating these requirements?
When do these new application store requirements take effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
25 actions- May 15, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 185.
- May 15, 2026HouseEffective date: See Act.
- May 13, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 13, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 12, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate without amendments.
- May 12, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
Show 19 earlier actions
- May 11, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 4, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 29, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateIntroducedReceived in the Senate; read by title Rules suspended. Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs.
- Apr 22, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 22, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/22/2026.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/21/2026.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/13/2026.
- Apr 8, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseReported with amendments (15-0).
- Mar 18, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Commerce.
- Mar 17, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title. Lies over under the rules.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Replacement of Prior Legislation
Section 1 explicitly voids Act No. 481 of the 2025 Regular Session, replacing it with the updated framework in Act 185.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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