Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox signed a sweeping social media bill into law Thursday afternoon that could dramatically limit youth access to apps like TikTok and Instagram, potentially altering the number of minors in the state who they use the internet.
The Utah Legislature approved the extent this month, despite opposition from tech industry groups and civil liberties experts. It is the first state law in the nation that will prohibit social networking services from allowing users under the age of 18 to have accounts without the explicit consent of a parent or guardian.
The new measure will also require social networks to give Utah parents access to their children’s posts, messages and responses. And it will require social networking services to block Utah minors from accessing their accounts from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., a default setting that only a parent or guardian can change.
Michael K. McKellA Republican member of the Utah Senate who sponsored the bill, said the statute was intended to address a “mental health crisis” among American teens, as well as protect younger users from child sexual harassment and exploitation. .
“We believe that social media is a contributing factor,” Senator McKell said in a telephone interview Thursday. “We want to address that problem.”
While the move may be good news for many parents, civil liberties experts and tech industry groups said it raises significant privacy and free speech concerns. Some warned that the new law, which will require social networks to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for those under 18, could isolate Utah youth from major online platforms and infringe on rights. of parents to decide how their children use the Internet. .
Governor Cox also signed a second bill on Thursday that it will prohibit social media companies from employing features or design techniques that could cause a minor to become “addicted” to their online platforms.
The Utah measures come at a time of heightened public concern and political action over powerful social media algorithms that can lure young people into spending hours online.
In recent years, popular social networking services have come under scrutiny for recommending self-harm content to young people and exposing children to predators. instagram, Tik Tok and other companies have responded by increasing parental controls, including time limits and messaging restrictions.
Efforts to minimize online risks for youth have drawn broad bipartisan support. In his State of the Union address last month, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation restricting how tech companies can track teens and children online.
State legislatures have already introduced a series of bills aimed at limiting the safety and mental health risks that social media, multiplayer video games and other online services can pose to some children and teens. Last year, California enacted a sweeping online safety law that will require many social networks, video games and other services to install the equivalent of seat belts and airbags for younger users.
Among other things, the California measure will require such services to turn on the highest privacy setting by default for users under the age of 18. It also requires social networks and other services to turn off features by default that could pose risks to younger people, such as “friend.” search engines” that allow strange adults to contact children.
But the Utah law far exceeds California’s online safety effort, imposing sweeping restrictions and allowing parental monitoring that could alter the number of Utah teens using the Internet. sarah coyneA professor of child development at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, warned that the move could inadvertently boomerang, exacerbating youth mental health problems by isolating vulnerable youth from important sources of information and support.
“We know that marginalized youth, like LGBTQ kids, use social media in really important ways to find belonging and support, especially when they don’t have family support,” said Dr. Coyne, who studied how time spent on social networks The media affect adolescents.
“So if you have a 17-year-old who is really struggling with mental health and turns to social media to find a place to belong, and their parents interrupt them or look at their messages, that can have a really significant effect. negative impact,” he said.
Senator McKell said the bill was intended to help parents protect their children online and that the potential benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks. In addition to requiring parental consent, the bill will prohibit social networks from allowing strangers to message young people, ban targeted advertising, and limit the collection and use of young people’s personal data by companies.
“If a parent wants to unleash their children online, under our bill they will have the ability to do so,” said Senator McKell. “But we want parents to be involved in the process and we’re not going to apologize for that.”
The Utah measure, which applies to social networks with at least five million account holders worldwide, will go into effect on March 1, 2024.
The Arkansas Legislature has introduced a bill that would require social media platforms to verify the age of users and obtain explicit parental consent for people under the age of 18. bill introduced in Texas is even stricter: it would ban social media accounts for minors.
