Bipartisan group of senators to propose social media age limits to protect teenagers
Christopher Hutton
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A bipartisan group of senators is set to introduce legislation to establish minimum ages for using social media in what will be the most serious bid yet to limit teenagers’ access to technology in light of widespread fears it is harming their well-being.
Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Tom Cotton (R-AK) will announce new legislation on Wednesday to set rules for how social media companies handle users under 18. It would add to several other state and federal bills designed to mitigate the effects of social media on teenagers’ mental health.
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The bill would bar children under 13 from accessing social media and require parental consent for those between 13 and 17, according to the Washington Post. The bill would also regulate how companies such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram use algorithms to present content to younger users. It is not yet clear what the enforcement mechanism would be.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) will also sponsor the bill.
California passed a law in September restricting the ability of apps to gather personal data from teenagers and requiring them to give teenage users the highest security settings by default. Utah and Arkansas passed similar bills last month that limited Big Tech’s ability to gather teenagers’ data.
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Leading industry groups said they were wary of such legislation’s effects on teenagers’ privacy and on First Amendment rights.
Many social media platforms already bar users under 13 from getting an account, although some, such as YouTube, offer products designed to provide family-friendly content.