Utah has approved new laws that prohibit anyone under 18 from using social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook without parental consent.
On Thursday, the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, signed two new social media legislations in a first-ever move intended to protect young people from the addictive platforms, according to a recent report by AP News.
The rules also prohibit kids under 18 from using social media between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., require age verification for anyone who wants to use social media in the state, and seek to prevent tech companies from luring kids to their apps using addictive features.
Furthermore, the new measure will require social media platforms to give parents access to their children’s posts, messages, and responses in the state.
The new laws are slated to take effect in March 2024.
Utah Cites Teen Mental Health Issues as Reason Behind the Decision
Utah lawmakers cited teen mental health issues related to increased social media use as a reason for the new regulations.
“We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth,” Cox said in a recent tweet. “Utah’s leading the way in holding social media companies accountable – and we’re not slowing down anytime soon.”
We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth. Today we signed two key bills in our fight against social media companies into law:
➡️ SB152 requires social media companies to verify that users in https://t.co/GVAcSi9zHx… pic.twitter.com/M1Kbya1xQi
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) March 23, 2023
Likewise, Michael K. McKell, a Republican member of the Utah Senate who sponsored the bill, said the new legislation is aimed to address a “mental health crisis” among kids as well as shield younger users from bullying and child sexual exploitation.
“We think social media is a contributing factor. We want to tackle that issue,” the Senator told The New York Times.
Does Social Media Hurt Teens?
The impact of social media on teens has been a hot debate among lawmakers and researchers across the US.
In a recent report, the Child Mind Institute, an independent nonprofit focused on children struggling with mental health, claimed that social media has a negative impact on teenagers’ mental health and can “lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.”
For the same reasons, lawmakers in some other US states, including Connecticut and Ohio, are working on similar bills that would require users under 16 to get parental permission before signing up for social media platforms.
Last month, President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address also called on Congress to act “to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
Meanwhile, some tech groups have pointed out that social media companies might have to collect more sensitive information about teens and families while trying to enforce the new regulations, which could put their private data at risk of breach.
Some technology companies have also claimed that the new age limit could infringe on teens’ rights to free speech and privacy.
Jim Steyer, the CEO and founder of Common Sense, said giving parents access to children’s social media posts would “deprive kids of the online privacy protections we advocate for.”
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