October 22, 2026
Pennsylvania's bell-to-bell school phone bill cleared the Legislature on Oct. 21 and now goes to Gov. Josh Shapiro, and its final text covers private and nonpublic schools as well as public ones. Meanwhile, Florida sued Discord, Missouri opened an investigation into TikTok and Arizona sued TikTok, all over children's safety on the apps. Here is what each document says and where it stands as of Oct. 22, 2026. Lawsuits and investigations are allegations, not findings.
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1014: Bell-to-Bell Phone Policy Clears the Legislature
Where it stands: on Oct. 21, 2026, the Pennsylvania Senate concurred in the House amendments to SB 1014 (Printer's No. 1697) by a 47-3 vote, after the House passed it 141-62 on Oct. 19. The bill was signed in the Senate on Oct. 21 and in the House on Oct. 22, according to the General Assembly's bill page. It is not law until the governor signs it; the bill page shows no executive action yet.
What the bill text says: no later than the start of the 2027-2028 school year, each school entity must adopt a policy on student possession and use of mobile devices during the school day on school property. The "school day" is defined to include homeroom, lunch, recess and the time moving between classes. The bill defines a school entity as a school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter, regional charter or cyber charter school, private school, approved private school or nonpublic school operating in Pennsylvania. Schools that already have a phone policy must amend it, if needed, by the same deadline.
Required exceptions: students who need a device because of a medical condition of the student or an immediate family member, documented by a medical provider; students whose IEP or 504 service agreement includes a device; and English learners who use a device for translation. Each school year, schools must tell parents how to contact their child during the school day and how to sign up for emergency notifications.
Smartwatches: the bill's definition of a mobile device does not include "a dual use watch if the watch's Wi-Fi and data are disabled," or medical devices as defined in federal law. That detail matters for families shopping for kids' smartwatches this holiday season, if the governor signs the bill.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly: SB 1014 bill history
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly: SB 1014, Printer's No. 1697 text
Florida Sues Discord Over Child Safety (Filed Oct. 15)
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit alleging Discord marketed itself to families as safe for children while failing to verify users' ages, shield minors from strangers or keep predators off the app. The claims are under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and Florida's law protecting children in online spaces (§ 501.1735), plus negligence, negligent misrepresentation and public nuisance. The attorney general's office says Discord reported about 2.7 million monthly active U.S. users under 18 as of February 2024.
The state asks the court to permanently bar the practices alleged, including operating without real age verification and collecting children's data without parental consent; civil penalties of up to $10,000 per willful FDUTPA violation and up to $50,000 per § 501.1735 violation (up to $150,000 where Discord had actual knowledge a Florida child was under 18); plus restitution, damages and fees. The office says Discord announced new teen safety settings on Sept. 22, 2026, and the lawsuit alleges those changes are "too little, too late." These are allegations; the court has not ruled.
Source: Florida Office of the Attorney General
Missouri Opens an Investigation Into TikTok's Impact on Children (Oct. 14)
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway issued a Civil Investigative Demand to TikTok, Inc. The demand covers how TikTok's algorithm selects and promotes content for children, including on TikTok for Younger Users; its strategies to attract and keep young users; its handling of dangerous online challenges; how it determines a user's age; and its internal research on youth mental health and problematic use. It covers data on children under 13, minors under 18 and young adults under 24, for the period from Jan. 1, 2021, to the present. TikTok must produce the documents by 10 a.m. CDT on Nov. 13, 2026. An investigation is not a lawsuit or a finding of wrongdoing.
Source: Missouri Attorney General's Office
Source: Missouri Attorney General's Office: Civil Investigative Demand
Arizona Sues TikTok Under Its Consumer Fraud Act (Filed Oct. 8)
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against TikTok Inc. and related entities in Maricopa County Superior Court. The complaint alleges TikTok designed its platform to drive compulsive use by minors, including children under 13, through features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and appearance-altering filters, and that it knowingly permits extensive under-13 use. These are allegations; the court has not ruled. This case is separate from Arizona's Roblox petition covered in our Oct. 21 kids, phones and apps update.
Source: Arizona Attorney General's Office
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