Indiana
Indiana bill would ban social media accounts for Hoosiers under age 16 without parental consent • Indiana Capital Chronicle
One year after Indiana policymakers enacted a law requiring pornography websites to verify users’ ages, a new bill seeks to further restrict Hoosiers under age 16 from creating social media accounts without “verified” parental permission.
Senate Bill 11, authored by Republican Sen. Mike Bohacek, would require a social media operator like Facebook or TikTok to restrict a minor from accessing the site if they did not receive “verifiable parental consent” from the minor’s parent.
As currently drafted, the bill would additionally allow parents and legal guardians to sue social media providers if their child accesses a site without consent.
Indiana’s attorney general could also issue a civil investigative demand if the office has “reasonable cause to believe” the law was violated. If a social media operator “fails to implement a verifiable parental consent method,” the attorney general would further be allowed to ask a judge to step in and stop a minor from accessing the site, and request a civil penalty of up to $250,000 for each violation, according to the bill.
The bill was heard Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chairwoman Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said the bill is expected to be amended and voted on by the committee next week.
“We’re not trying to regulate content, of what’s going on the various social media sites — that’s not what we’re trying to do,” said Bohacek, of Michiana Shores. “We’re looking to see, is just the fact that social media itself — regardless of the content that’s inside of it — is that, in and of itself, creating the mental health issues that we’re having right now with a lot of our kids? And I believe that’s what it is.”
The bill would be effective on July 1, if passed.
During the 2024 session, state lawmakers approved Senate Enrolled Act 17, requiring pornography websites to verify user ages. They hoped to keep children from accessing pornography, but adult content companies sued, arguing the law would be costly to implement and violate First Amendment and privacy rights.
A federal judge blocked enforcement last June before its intended July effectiveness date, but an appeals court later rolled back the preliminary injunction. The law is currently in effect while the litigation continues.
Must get consent
Current bill language specifies that “verifiable parental consent” could be obtained “through a method that is reasonably designed to ensure that the person providing the consent is a parent or legal guardian of the minor user.” The proposal also mandates social media providers to establish a procedure to allow a parent or legal guardian to revoke their consent.
At least 10 states have passed laws requiring children’s access to social media be restricted or parental consent gained, and several states’ laws are currently on hold, according to the Age Verification Providers Association, a trade body representing age verification services providers.
What we’re trying to do is getting our kids supervised on this new space, social media, and whatever content their accessing.
– Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
Bohacek said he already has multiple amendments to the bill, including to redefine social media, “because the definition we had originally was very, very broad.” The senator said the updated definition will make clear that sites requiring an account, username and password to access content would qualify. Platforms like YouTube, however — which do not necessarily require a user to sign in before accessing the website — would not be included.
Additionally, a provision in the bill to allow parents and guardians to file lawsuits against the companies if their child was subjected to bullying on the social media platform will be removed.
“We didn’t want to go down that road,” Bohacek said, referring to the bullying provision. “That’s going to be a little bit too much.”
Another anticipated amendment would require the attorney general’s office to give social media companies up to 30 days to remedy violations before any civil action is taken.
“The goal is not to just find and punish and penalize. It’s not what we’re trying to do here,” Bohacek said. “What we’re trying to do is getting our kids supervised on this new space, social media, and whatever content their accessing. But then also, if you feel your child is mature enough, and you feel like you want to supervise them enough, then you simply give them access to do that. And there’s a process in here to do that.”
Will restrictions keep kids off social media?
Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, questioned whether the bill would actually keep youth from creating online accounts. A virtual private network, or VPN, for example, could allow minors to bypass technology used by social media companies to detect a user’s age.
“If a child used a VPN application in order to get around the law, well, that’s no different than jaywalking or speeding,” Bohacek argued. “You know the law, you went around the law, you just didn’t get caught.”
Concerns were also raised by committee members about joint custody cases, in which one parent or guardian consents to a child’s social media account, but the other parent or guardian does not.
Attorney general, adult websites clash in age verification lawsuit
Bohacek said he’d be willing to tweak the bill’s language to clarify that only “a” — meaning one — parent or guardian must provide their permission.
The Indiana Catholic Conference spoke in favor of the bill Wednesday evening. Only Chris Daley, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, spoke in opposition.
He said the bill “clearly infringes on the First Amendment rights of Hoosiers 15 and down, to the degree that those rights attach at certain ages.” Daley pointed to similar laws in Arkansas and Ohio that judges have enjoined — put on hold — amid ongoing legal challenges. If Senate Bill 11 is approved, he expects the law “will eventually be blocked and overturned.”
“I think we all know that this bill will be challenged, and there’s no reason to believe that a court in Indiana — a trial court, federal trial court — will come to a different conclusion,” Daley said. “These cases in Arkansas and Ohio will be resolved, and that could be the appropriate time we all take action. Or, alternatively to that, we could try to do something meaningful.”
Daley recommended for lawmakers to instead invest in mental health resources for Hoosier youth and focus on educating parents “on steps they can take already” to curb their kids’ internet access.
Brown and other Republicans on the committee pushed back.
“All we’re trying to do here, in my opinion … is to try to give parents a tool which they don’t currently have,” Brown said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Indiana
DoorDash driver accused of pepper-spraying customer’s Arby’s order, resulting in wife falling ill
Caught red (pepper) handed.
A DoorDash driver has been banned from the app after being accused of dousing an order with pepper spray and causing an unsuspecting customer to fall ill after eating the tainted food.
The sick act was caught on a doorbell camera outside an Evansville, Indiana, home just after midnight on Sunday.
The driver, who hasn’t been charged with any crime, was dropping off an Arby’s delivery to Mark Cardin and his wife, Mandy, when she snapped a confirmation photo before suddenly producing an object from her pocket and spraying the order.
The blue-haired worker placed the spray back into her jacket pocket before walking away, all in front of the camera.
The couple brought the order inside, unaware that something was wrong with it and began chowing down.
Moments later, Mandy began struggling to breathe.
“I noticed my wife had starting eating and she started choking and gasping, and after she had a couple bites of her food she actually threw up,” he told WFIE.
The horrified customer began investigating the cause of his wife’s sudden illness when he examined the order.
“I had a look at the bag and seen that there was some kind of spray or something,” Cardin said. “The bag had been tampered with. So I pulled up my doorbell camera and seen that the lady who dropped the food off had actually tampered with it on purpose for some reason.”
Cardin shared the photos and videos of the driver to Facebook asking for help in identifying the driver.
He attempted to contact her but found she already blocked him on the app.
Cardin reported the food runner’s stunt to DoorDash and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is looking to get the driver fired and charged.
“I definitely want to see her prosecuted,” Cardin told WFIE, adding that they had never met her before and had left a tip before the incident.
The driver has been banned from the app after footage surfaced of the late-night delivery.
“We have zero tolerance for this type of appalling behavior. The Dasher in question has been permanently removed from the platform, and our team is standing by to support law enforcement with any investigation,” a DoorDash spokesperson told The Post.
Cardin doesn’t know exactly what was sprayed on the food, fearing it could’ve been worse than it was.
“It’s horrific,” Cardin said. “We assume it’s pepper spray, that’s more than likely what it is, but now in this day and age it could’ve been anything. It could’ve been rat poison, it could’ve been fentanyl. I mean, my wife could’ve been dead.”
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the driver and could charge her with consumer product tampering, a level 6 felony, according to WFIE.
If the foreign spray resulted in harm the charge could be increased to a level 5 felony.
“We live in a terrible world right now,” Mark said. “Horrific. People are mean for no reason. There was no reason to do what she done,” Cardin said, encouraging other food delivery app users to be cautious with their future orders.
“I would say to anybody, if you order food on any kind of delivery service, make sure you have a doorbell,” Mark said.
“This is making me second guess ever ordering food from anywhere ever again,” he said.
NORTHEAST INDIANA (WPTA) – The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced the list of cities and counties selected to receive funds through its Community Crossings Matching Grant Program.
The Community Crossings program, created in 2016, gives funding to towns, cities, and counties in the Hoosier State that are used for infrastructure improvement projects.
Projects eligible for funding through the program include road and bridge preservation projects that comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards, along with chip sealing and crack-filling operations.
On Tuesday, the following recipients were announced:
Allen County, Bluffton, DeKalb County, and LaGrange County were among those that received the largest grants, at $1 million.
You can view the full list of recipients here.
INDOT says the next call for project submissions will open in July. For more information about the program, visit INDOT’s website.
Copyright 2025 WPTA. All rights reserved.
Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers head into the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed in the field after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes by a final score of 13-10 in the Big Ten championship game.
Knocking off Ohio State was the biggest statement that Indiana could have sent. Not only did the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes, they completely shut down the former No. 1 team in the nation offensively.
Led by star quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who many believe could be the top overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Hoosiers are a legitimate national championship contender. However, there are some who are looking ahead at next season with questions.
Read more: Texas, Arch Manning Dealt More Bad News After Missing CFP
Being a long-term championship contender is no easy task. Losing Mendoza to the NFL, assuming he makes that decision, will be difficult to recover from. That being said, there is an intriguing transfer portal option that Indiana could become a favorite to land.
Joe Cox of College Football HQ on SI has named the Hoosiers as potential team to watch when it comes to star Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt in the transfer portal.
“Who would have thought that Indiana would be a QB destination? But if Kurtis Rourke can lead IU to the Playoff and Fernando Mendoza can lead them to No. 1, what could Leavitt do in Bloomington?” Cox wrote. “Assuming Mendoza does go to the NFL (which seems like a foregone conclusion), the spot is open for an immediate splash.”
Leavitt made the decision to enter the transfer portal back on Monday. He has shown elite talent during his time with the Sun Devils.
During the 2025 college football season at Arizona State, Leavitt completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions, while also running for 306 yards and five scores. He produced those numbers in just seven games.
Read more: Alabama Named in Paul Finebaum’s Head-Turning CFP Prediction
Last year, Leavitt posted bigger numbers. He threw for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions, while completing 61.7 percent of his passes. He chipped in with 443 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Adding Leavitt would undoubtedly keep Cignetti and Indiana in the national championship picture. There will be plenty of other teams with interest in adding him, but the Hoosiers would make a ton of sense.
For more on the Indiana Hoosiers and college football news, head to Newsweek Sports.
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Mega Millions, Pick 3 on Dec. 9, 2025
Catching up with Illinois State after huge playoff upset victory
DoorDash driver accused of pepper-spraying customer’s Arby’s order, resulting in wife falling ill
Republican Wendy Larson wins Iowa House special election
Kansas Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for Dec. 9, 2025
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Prosecutors Release Body Camera Footage of Luigi Mangione’s Arrest
$900B defense bill advances to House-wide vote as conservative mutiny threat looms
Flavio Bolsonaro retracts suggestion of a ‘price’ to end 2026 election bid
San Diego officials approve $30M settlement for family of teen killed by police | CNN
One dead, one injured in shooting at Kentucky State University, police say
-
Alaska3 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Politics1 week agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Ohio6 days agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
News1 week agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
World1 week agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Texas4 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Iowa3 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL3 days agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion