US Utah Kids and social media sites with parent consent
On Thursday, the Utha became the first State in the United States to require social media sites to get parental consent for accounts operated by below 18 kids.
Which has increased the burden on media like Instagram and TikTok to confirm the age of their users.
The rule, which became operative in March 2024, was introduced in response to worries about the rising teenage social media addiction as well as security issues such as online bullying, exploitation, and the gathering of children’s personal information.
However, tech companies and civil rights organizations have expressed concern that it would restrict access to online resources for underprivileged teenagers and have significant ramifications for free speech.
The governor of a western US state, Spencer Cox, signed two related measures on Thursday and tweeted, “We’re no longer willing to let social media organizations continue to harm the mental health of our youth.”
The measures also require social media companies to provide parents full access to their kids’ accounts and implement a “curfew” that prevents overnight access to children’s accounts.
They impose fines on social media businesses that employ “addictive algorithms” to target users under 18. They make it simpler for parents to sue social media corporations for financial, physical, or emotional harm.
“We hope that this is just the start of many bills that will be seen across the country and hopefully picked on by the federal government,” stated state representative Jordan Teuscher, who co-sponsored the bill.
Michael McKell, a Republican senator from Utah who co-sponsored the bill, called it a “bipartisan” endeavor and complimented President Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union speech, in which he emphasized the topic.
Last month, Biden called on US politicians to limit how social media corporations advertise to youngsters and collect their data, accusing Big Tech of conducting a “for profit” experiment on the nation’s kids.
California has previously enacted online safety legislation, including severe default privacy settings for minors, but the Utah law goes far further.
Similar legislation is being drafted in states such as Ohio and Connecticut.
Parental controls, including text restrictions and time limits, have been added to platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
McKell cited statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the Utah ceremony on Thursday, claiming that they showed the negative effects social networking apps might have on children’s developing minds.
I have two kids; therefore, he added that the effect on our daughters was disturbing.
“From the ninth to the twelfth grades, 30% of our girls had seriously considered suicide. That’s astonishing.
Get all the latest news of Saurashtra on Indian daily post.
