Drop a pin anywhere on the map and it’s likely you’ll find a state with efforts to regulate social media. This year, state legislatures came out of the gates swinging with a new batch of bills aimed at verifying ages, banning apps, and limiting users access to social media, and more are sure to follow. While the approaches vary, the result is clear: a daunting patchwork of social media legislation and a compliance nightmare for American innovators.

While several states already have versions of age verification laws, 10 app store specific age verification bills are active in legislatures around the country right now. An additional seven states have introduced device filter bills, and even more have age-based restriction proposals on the horizon. Some will pass, some will fail, and most will become mired in a long legal battle because of the multitude of Constitutional questions raised by efforts to limit access to platforms that host free speech.

The inefficacy and fiscal impact alone of such efforts are enough to give lawmakers pause, but the secondary effects of these state level efforts is a recipe for mounting costs and complexities. Users and companies will race to keep up with a collection of differing and at times conflicting laws, lost in a fragmented bureaucratic landscape. The inconsistencies of enforcement and implementation between states create what is known as a “patchwork”—the opposite of a coherent strategy for keeping kids safe online.

What does a patchwork of social media laws mean for consumers? Depending on which state they are in, their access to and experience of certain platforms will look different. For people who rely on social media as a means for communication or livelihood, this presents a multitude of logistical challenges. Privacy risks arise too: when data collection practices vary from state to state, personal information vulnerabilities inevitably arise. Confusion is unavoidable when policies clash and the experience of an app or platform used daily shifts between state lines and clarity is nowhere to be found.

For companies and innovators, a patchwork means a compliance headache and added costs that price out smaller groups and startups. Tailoring models to fit the nuances of each state’s requirements will prove to be an expensive and lengthy process. Lengthy litigation seems inevitable as companies scramble to meet new standards and adjust on the fly. The price tag of compliance creates an uneven playing field. Innovators, new to the market, will simply be unable to afford the resources and time needed to navigate such an intricate regulatory landscape.

When private companies are overwhelmed by zealous regulations, their product and the consumer both suffer. The last year has marked great progress by the free market in creating safety tools to combat the risks that accompany social media and online activity. For instance, this month, Meta debuted an education curriculum for parents and children to help protect against online exploitation. Other social media platforms and smaller companies have worked to provide resources and tools for users to create an online experience with which they and their families feel comfortable. The Pelican Institute created a comprehensive parent’s guide to social media that compiles resources and strategies for protecting children online. These free market solutions offer an alternative to the patchwork: one that allows innovators to continue improving their product, and users to continue using their platform of choice.