Social Media Bills: New York’s Efforts to Protect Young Users

New York’s youngest social media users will soon face some serious changes. Governor Kathy Hochul signed two new social media bills into legislation limiting social media algorithms for children. With this action, New York has become the first state to enact legislation inhibiting social media platforms targeting children. 

Hochul strongly supports the message of child safety that accompanies her bills. She says, “They’re not living carefree lives because they are being held captive to powerful forces outside their control—algorithms that are intentionally addictive, intended to pull them in and keep their attention.”

Governor Hochul’s Social Media Bills 

The first bill is known as the SAFE For Kids Act. The act prevents social media platforms from displaying videos based on aggressive algorithms. It also limits the ability of social media platforms to give notifications between midnight and 6 A.M. Both pieces of the social media bill limit the ability of platforms to target children. The time limits also prevent interrupting sleep cycles during children’s formative years. 

The second bill is the New York Child Data Protection Act. It restricts social media platforms’ ability to collect, use, sell, and share data from people under 18. Parents can override both bills with “verifiable parental consent.” 

The bill will not take immediate effect within the state. The State Attorney General, Letitia James, is now in charge of ironing out the details of the social media bill’s implementation. Some topics she is currently figuring out are how to obtain verifiable parental consent and how platforms can reliably verify a user’s age. 

After the fine details are set in place, social media companies will have 180 days to implement the new changes. Companies that do not adhere to regulations reportedly face fines of up to $5000. 

Other Social Media Bans

Governor Hochul has made it clear that her social media bills are an effort to protect children from the dangers of the internet. She says, “We have heard their cries for help, reminding us as adults that we have a moral responsibility to protect young New Yorkers from harm and addictive forces.”

In recent months, governmental and educational groups have been discussing the possibility of various social media restrictions and bans to protect the welfare of children. Furthermore, The Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, recently released a statement regarding social media and children. Specifically, He argued that social media platforms should have warning labels similar to those issued with alcohol or cigarettes. He asserted how social media platforms can have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of children across the country. 

Also, within the past month, the L.A. School District passed regulations regarding cellphone use during the school day. Their ban supports the Surgeon General’s call for social media awareness. 

With these separate entities creating similar legislation, social media is clearly making big waves across the country. Widespread support leads many to believe that even more social media bills will be created soon. 

Feedback From Tech Companies 

Most people seem to agree jovially with the legislation. Parents and lawmakers hope the social media bills will help protect kids in our ever-changing technological age. Educators are also pleased with the bill, believing it will help children connect in healthier ways both in and out of school.

Tech companies, on the other hand, feel differently about social media bills. NetChoice, a tech industry trade group that includes platforms like Meta and X, made a statement. “This is an assault on free speech and the open internet by the State of New York,” their spokesman said. For the most part, tech companies argue that bans and restrictions infringe on an open market and free speech. 

Some companies do want to acknowledge the morality behind the bill. For instance, one Meta spokesperson said, “While we don’t agree with every aspect of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores.”

Conclusion

In recent years, aggressive algorithms and additive content creation have alarmed many parents, lawmakers, and educators. Unfortunately, children seem to be the willing victims of these targeted campaigns. Due to their young age and susceptibility, aggressive social media use can cause many mental health issues and disconnection, which has been on the rise among children.

To prevent these negative impacts, governments and organizations have been working to implement bans and restrictions whenever possible. Recently, New York became the first state to implement governmental regulations through two social media bills. 

These bills will effectively limit social media platforms’ ability to target content and collect data from children. Although many support these changes, significant players in the tech industry hesitate or express displeasure. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if more bills pass nationwide.