North Carolina
North Carolina has two in-effect adult content laws. The PAVE Act, enacted in 2023, requires websites with substantial harmful-to-minors content to age-verify visitors and is enforced only through private civil suits. House Bill 805, enacted over the Governor's veto in July 2025, requires pornography platforms to verify the age and written consent of every individual depicted and honor removal requests, effective December 1, 2025. A separate social media minor-access bill, House Bill 301, passed the House in 2025 and the Senate in 2026 in different forms and went to a House-Senate conference committee in late June 2026. No app store or design code law has been enacted or advanced past a single chamber.
Subnational jurisdiction. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
HB 8, Pornography Age Verification Enforcement (PAVE) Act
Commercial entities that knowingly publish or distribute material harmful to minors from a website where more than one third of the content meets that definition must verify that visitors are 18 or older using a commercial database or another commercially reasonable method. Providers may not retain identifying information after access is granted, and enforcement is solely through private civil suits by parents, guardians, or affected individuals.
- Citation
- N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 66, art. 51, sections 66-500 to 66-501 (Session Law 2023-132)
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2024-01-01
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- third party service, transactional data
- Covered services
- Commercial websites where more than one third of total material is harmful to minors
- Penalties
- Civil injunctions, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, sought by private plaintiffs.
- Enforcement body
- None (private civil action only); no designated state enforcement agency
- Private right of action
- yes
- Source
- N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 66, art. 51, sections 66-500 to 66-501 (Session Law 2023-132)
HB 805, Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act
Operators of websites and apps that publish pornographic images must verify, before publication, that every individual depicted was at least 18 when the image was created and gave explicit written consent to each act and to distribution, backed by a signed consent form and matching government-issued identification. Operators must display removal instructions, remove images within 72 hours of a request from a depicted individual or law enforcement, and block removed images from re-publication; this regulates verification of people appearing in content rather than website visitors. The act was enacted over the Governor's veto on July 29, 2025.
- Citation
- N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 66, art. 51A, sections 66-505 to 66-510 (Session Law 2025-84)
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2025-12-01
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- gov id
- Covered services
- Websites and mobile apps that publish or distribute pornographic images
- Penalties
- Attorney General civil penalties up to $10,000 per day per image after notice; private civil actions for $10,000 per day per image or actual damages, plus attorney fees.
- Enforcement body
- North Carolina Attorney General, plus private civil actions by depicted individuals or their representatives
- Private right of action
- yes
- Source
- N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 66, art. 51A, sections 66-505 to 66-510 (Session Law 2025-84)
HB 301, social media and minors safety act
As passed by the House 106-6 in May 2025, the bill would bar children under 14 from holding social media accounts and require parental consent for 14 and 15 year olds, with age verification duties on platforms. The Senate passed a revised committee substitute 48-0 on June 10, 2026, the House voted not to concur on June 23, 2026, and a conference committee was appointed the next day to reconcile the versions.
- Citation
- H.B. 301, 2025-2026 Session (General Assembly, as passed by both chambers in differing forms)
- Status
- Proposed
- Effective date
- Not yet effective
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 16
- Verification methods
- parental consent
- Covered services
- Social media platforms
- Penalties
- Proposed civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation, plus up to $10,000 in damages for an affected minor.
- Enforcement body
- North Carolina Department of Justice (proposed)
- Private right of action
- yes
- Source
- H.B. 301, 2025-2026 Session (General Assembly, as passed by both chambers in differing forms)
Reviewed 2026-07-15. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area, verify before relying. Not legal advice.