Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox announced Thursday afternoon that he is drastically restricting young people’s access to apps like TikTok and Instagram, potentially changing the number of underage internet users in the state. Signed sweeping social media legislation.
Utah’s Legislature passed the bill this month despite opposition from technology industry groups and civil liberties experts. This would be the first state law in the nation to prohibit social media services from allowing users under 18 to have accounts without the explicit consent of a parent or guardian.
The new measure would also require social networks to allow parents in Utah to access their children’s posts, messages and replies. It would also require social media services to prevent minors in Utah from accessing their accounts between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., a default setting that only parents or guardians can change. can.
Utah State Senate Republican Michael K. McKell, who sponsored the bill, said the bill would address the “mental health crisis” among American teens and protect young users from bullying and child sexual exploitation. He said it was intended to protect.
“I think social media is a factor,” Sen. McKell said in a phone interview Thursday. “We want to address that issue.”
While the move may be welcome news to many parents, human rights experts and technology industry groups said it raises serious privacy and free speech concerns. A new law that requires social networks to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for users under 18 will cut off Utah’s youth from major online platforms and give parents more control over how their children use the internet. Some people have warned that it could violate the rights of others. .
Governor Cox also signed a second bill Thursday that prohibits social media companies from employing features or design practices that could cause minors to become “addicted” to online platforms.
Utah’s action comes amid growing public concern and political action over powerful social media algorithms that can lead young people to spend hours online.
In recent years, popular social networking services have come under intense scrutiny for promoting content about self-harm to young people, exposing children to predators. Companies like Instagram and TikTok are responding by increasing controls for parents, such as time limits and message limits.
Efforts to minimize online risks to young people have broad bipartisan support. In his State of the Union address last month, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would limit how technology companies track adolescents and children online.
State legislatures have already introduced a number of bills aimed at limiting the mental health and safety risks that social networks, multiplayer video games, and other online services can pose to some children and adolescents. are doing. Last year, California enacted sweeping online safety laws that require many social networks, video games and other services to install the equivalent of seat belts or airbags for young users.
Among other things, California’s bill would require users under 18 to turn on the highest privacy settings by default for such services. It also requires social networks and other services to turn off features by default that may pose a risk to young people, such as “Friends.” “Finder that allows unknown adults to contact children.”
But Utah’s law goes far beyond California’s online safety efforts, imposing wide-ranging restrictions and allowing for parental monitoring, and protecting the internet use of Utah teens. The number of participants may change. Sarah Coyne, a child development professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, said the measure could inadvertently boomerang, cutting off vulnerable youth from important sources of information and support and increasing youth mental health issues. He warned that it could make things worse.
“We know that marginalized young people, like LGBTQ children, use social media in critical ways to find a sense of belonging and support, especially in the absence of family support. “I know,” said Dr. Coyne, who has studied time spent on social media. Media influences youth.
“Seventeen-year-olds who are really struggling with their mental health are turning to social media for a place to belong, and their parents are blocking them or seeing their messages. If so, that could have a very significant negative impact,” she said.
Senator McKell said the bill is aimed at helping parents protect their children online, and the potential benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks. In addition to requiring parental consent, the bill would ban strangers from messaging young people on social networks, ban targeted advertising, and restrict companies’ collection and use of young people’s personal data. It becomes.
“If parents want to give their children more freedom online, under our bill they will be able to do that,” said Senator McKell. “But we want parents to be part of this process, and we’re not going to apologize for that.”
Utah’s measure applies to social networks with at least 5 million account holders worldwide and is scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2024.
The Arkansas Legislature has introduced a similar bill that would require social networking platforms to verify the age of their users and obtain explicit parental consent if they are under 18. A bill introduced in Texas is even stricter and would ban social media accounts for minors.