By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Republican Gov. Mike Braun on Monday said parents should provide feedback about how well Indiana’s new social media law works.
Braun
The governor’s comments came during a Monday afternoon news conference following the end of the 2026 legislative session on Friday.
The new social media law, which becomes effective on Jan. 1, will require social media companies to verify the ages of anyone applying for an account. If the person is younger than 16, social media companies must get parental approval, and the person’s account could not have features such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, or algorithm-generated content suggestions.
Lawmakers have worked on a social media bill for a couple of years, but the efforts gained new traction after the disappearance and death of Fishers teenager Hailey Buzbee in January. Investigators said Buzbee communicated with a man through an online gaming platform for about a year before she ran away from home.
Braun said the bill doesn’t contain everything he wants for social media companies but it’s a good start, especially considering lawmakers’ short timeline this session. He said he hopes the bill is a catalyst for further legislation and he wants parents and stakeholders to weigh in. Above all, Braun said tech companies need to start listening to parents and policymakers and address the problems their products are causing.
“We shouldn’t have to be, as legislators across the country, worrying about stuff that you could fix to begin with,” he said. “We did as much as we could with the time that we had and I’m proud of what we got done. Parents, people using it, paying for it, need to tell Big Tech, fix your own problems.”
Braun said he was very pleased with the overall results of the legislative session. In all, he said 19 of 23 bills associated with his legislative agenda and 32 of 35 bills containing agency requests reached his desk.
Among the bills that reached his desk was a bill designed to reduce the costs associated with building housing. Lawmakers ended up removing provisions that would have restricted local governments’ ability to require certain design elements or types of housing. Braun said the bill still encourages local governments to work more closely with housing developers and there already have been some instances of success in that area.
The governor also said he was pleased by legislation to eliminate state income taxes on tips and overtime, to strip commercial driver’s licenses from people who lack work authorization in the United States, and to ban student use of cell phones throughout the school day.
The governor also briefly addressed Monday’s announcement that a group of investors headed by BlackRock would acquire AES Indiana. Braun said AES’ new owners will still have to follow the state’s rules. Among other things, that means having to work with an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission which Braun has tasked with keeping utility rates as low as possible.
“It’s the first time ever there’s been a dynamic shift in this state to where ratepayers are the primary concern,” he said.
The governor indicated vetoes are unlikely this year. He said there were a few bills this session with which he had some concerns, but his team was able to work with lawmakers to address them before the bills reached his desk.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/politics/gov-braun-seeks-parents-input-on-new-social-media-law.
