Senate amendment to the 5th edition makes the following changes.

Amends proposed GS 114B-1, as follows. Amends the requirements for the method used by a government agency or business for age verification under the definition of anonymous age verification, to require that it be conducted by a nongovernmental, independent third party that is not owned or controlled by an entity formed in a foreign country or by a government of a foreign country, unless the entity: (1) has received a determination from the committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that there are no unresolved national security concerns with respect to the entity in connection to a matter submitted to CFIUS and which CFIUS concluded all actions under the specified federal law, (2) has a national security agreement with CFIUS and maintains the validity of the national security agreement, or (3) is a US domicile subsidiary of an entity that meets the above criteria.  

Amends proposed GS 114B-2 by specifying that an addictive social media platform must terminate the account of a holder who is 14 or 15 years old who does not have a parent or guardian’s consent (previously did not refer to consent) after providing 30 days to dispute the termination.

Amends proposed GS 114B-4 by adding that a connected-device manufacturer or seller or an operating-system developer or provider does not violate the Chapter solely for taking the specified actions; updates those action for all listed entities to include manufacturing, selling, configuring, preloading, updating, or securing access or connection to or from an addictive social media platform not under the provider’s control.

Changes the effective date of Section 1 of the act so that it applies to causes of action arising on or after January 1, 2027 (was, effective October 1, 2026).