2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 39 - MINORS (§§ 39-1-1 — 39-6-5) › Chapter 6 - [VERIFICATION OF AGE OF ACCOUNT HOLDERS] (§§ 39-6-1 — 39-6-5) › Section 39-6-1 - [Effective 7/1/2025] [Definitions]

As used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
"Account holder" means a person who is a resident of this state and has an account or profile to use a social media platform, including a minor account holder.
(2)
"Educational entity" means:
(A)
A public elementary or secondary school, including without exception public schools provided for under Articles 31, 31A, and 31C of Chapter 2 of Title 20;
(B)
A private elementary or secondary school;
(C)
A unit of the University System of Georgia;
(D)
A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia;
(E)
An independent or private college or university located in Georgia and eligible to be deemed an 'approved school' pursuant to paragraph (2) of Code Section
20-3-411
; or
(F)
A nonpublic postsecondary educational institution provided for in Part 1A of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20.
(3)
"Minor" means an individual who resides in this state and is actually known or reasonably believed by a social media platform to be under the age of 16 years.
(4)
"Minor account holder" means an account holder who is a minor.
(5)
"Post" means content that an account holder makes available on a social media platform for other account holders or users to view or listen to, including text, images, audio, and video.
(6)
"Social media platform" means an online forum that allows an account holder to create a profile, upload posts, view and listen to posts, form mutual connections, and interact publicly and privately with other account holders and users. Such term shall not include an online service, website, or application where the predominant or exclusive function is any of the following:
(A)
Email;
(B)
A service that, pursuant to its terms of use, does not permit minors to use the platform and utilizes commercially reasonable age assurance mechanisms to deter minors from becoming account holders;
(C)
A streaming service that provides only licensed media that is not user generated in a continuous flow from the service, website, or application to the end user and does not obtain a license to the media from a user or account holder by agreement to its terms of service;
(D)
News, sports, entertainment, or other content that is preselected by the provider and not user generated, and any chat, comment, or interactive functionality that is provided incidental to or directly or indirectly related to such content;
(E)
Online shopping or ecommerce, if the interaction with other users or account holders is generally limited to the ability to upload a post and comment on reviews, the ability to display lists or collections of goods for sale or wish lists, and other functions that are focused on online shopping or ecommerce rather than interaction between users or account holders;
(F)
Interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or an online service, website, or application that allows the creation and uploading of content for the purpose of interactive gaming, educational entertainment, or associated entertainment, and communications related to that content;
(G)
Photograph editing that has an associated photograph hosting service if the interaction with other users or account holders is generally limited to liking or commenting;
(H)
Single-purpose community groups for public safety if the interaction with other users or account holders is limited to that single purpose and the community group has guidelines or policies against illegal content;
(I)
Business-to-business software;
(J)
Teleconferencing or videoconferencing services that allow reception and transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication;
(K)
Cloud storage;
(L)
Shared document collaboration;
(M)
Cloud computing services, which may include cloud storage and shared document collaboration;
(N)
Providing access to or interacting with data visualization platforms, libraries, or hubs;
(O)
Permitting comments on a digital news website if the news content is posted only by the provider of the digital news website;
(P)
Providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service;
(Q)
Academic, scholarly, or genealogical research where the majority of the content is created or posted by the provider of the online service, website, or application and the ability to chat, comment, or interact with other users is directly related to the provider's content;
(R)
Internet access and broadband service;
(S)
A classified advertising service in which the provider of the online service, website, or application is limited to all of the following:
(i)
Permitting only the sale of goods;
(ii)
Prohibiting the solicitation of personal services;
(iii)
Posting or creating a substantial amount of the content; and
(iv)
Providing the ability to chat, comment, or interact with other users only if it is directly related to the provider's content;
(T)
An online service, website, or application that is used by or under the direction of an educational entity, including a learning management system, student engagement program, or subject- or skill-specific program, where the majority of the content is created or posted by the provider of the online service, website, or application and the ability to chat, comment, or interact with other users is directly related to the provider's content;
(U)
Peer-to-peer payments, provided that interactions among users or account holders are generally limited to the ability to send, receive, or request funds; like or comment on such transactions; or other functions related to sending, receiving, requesting, or settling payments among users or account holders; or
(V)
Career development opportunities, including professional networking, job skills, learning certifications, and job posting and application services.
(7)
"User" means a person who has access to view all or some of the posts on a social media platform, but who is not an account holder.
Added by 2024 Ga. Laws 463,§ 3-1, eff. 7/1/2025.