Utah has become the first US state to require social media companies to obtain parental consent for children and teens to use their apps.
They will also need to verify that users are at least 18 years old.
The state’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox, said he signed two new laws in this regard to protect the state’s youth.
The regulations give parents full access to their children’s online accounts, including private messages and posts.
These measures come amid growing concern about The impact of social media on children’s mental health.
The explicit consent of parents or guardians will be necessary for minors to create accounts in applications such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The regulations also impose a curfew on social media that blocks children’s access between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., unless otherwise set by their parents.
Under the legislation, social media companies will no longer be able to collect children’s data or target advertising to them.
The two laws – which are also designed to make legal action against social media companies easier – will take effect on March 1, 2024.
Mental health
Governor Cox wrote on Twitter: “We are no longer willing to allow social media companies to continue harming the mental health of our youth.”
“As leaders, and parents, we have a responsibility to protect our youth.”
The Commons Sense Media Collective welcomed the governor’s moves to restrict some of the most addictive features of social media, calling it a “huge win for Utah’s kids and families.”
“This decision is a push for other states to hold social media companies accountable to ensure that children across the country are safe online,” said Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media.
In four other states where the Republican Party governs – Arkansas, Texas, Ohio and Louisiana – and in New Jersey, where the Democrats govern, similar regulations are being studied.
In any case, Common Sense Media and other children’s advocacy groups warned that parts of the new legislation could put some children at risk.
Ari Z Cohn, a free speech attorney at TechFreedom, said the bill raised “significant free speech issues.”
“There are a lot of children who could be in abusive homes,” he told the BBC, “who could be LGBT, who could be cut off from social media completely.”
Tools
In response to the new laws, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said it has solid tools to keep children safe.
“We’ve developed more than 30 tools to support teens and families, including tools that let parents and teens work together to limit the amount of time teens spend on Instagram, and age verification technology that helps teenagers to have age-appropriate experiences,” a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.
There have been other bipartisan endorsements in the United States of social media legislation intended to protect children.
President Joe Biden in his February State of the Union address called for laws that prohibit tech companies from collecting data from minors.
Last year, California state legislators passed their own child data law. Among other measures, California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act requires digital platforms to include maximum privacy features by default for users under the age of 18.
The passage of the Utah bills coincided Thursday with a tough appearance before Congress by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
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