States Move to Curb Addictive Social Media Tactics Harming Kids
In response to growing concerns over youth mental health issues exacerbated by addictive social media practices, several states are pursuing groundbreaking legislation to rein in big tech companies and protect young users online.
The movement is being spearheaded by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who recently met with students to hear firsthand about the impacts of unhealthy social media usage. Hochul aims to pass the nation-leading “Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act” in the coming weeks.
Giving Parents Control Over Feeds and Usage
The SAFE for Kids Act would empower parents to opt their children out of algorithmically-curated social media feeds designed to promote compulsive scrolling and engagement. Instead, kids would receive a chronological feed from accounts they choose to follow.
“These addictive algorithms bombarding our youth with harmful content are driven by corporate greed,” Hochul stated. “We’re taking back control for parents over what their kids consume online.”
The bill would also allow parents to block social media access during certain hours, set daily time limits, and prevent notifications from being sent overnight without consent. This combats tactics like autoplay videos, push alerts, and infinite scroll that contribute to excessive usage.
Protecting Children’s Data Privacy
Complementing the SAFE Act is the proposed Child Data Protection Act, which would prohibit websites from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of minors without verifiable parental consent.
“Kids’ private data is being exploited to manipulate their behavior and keep them glued to screens,” Hochul said. “We’re drawing a line to safeguard their privacy and mental wellbeing.”
A National Movement
Similar bills have been introduced in California, aiming to default minors’ accounts to maximum privacy settings, limit notifications during school hours, and require parental permission for addictive content feeds.
“For too long, big tech has prioritized profits over protecting our kids online,” said California legislator Steve Glazer. “It’s time to hold these companies accountable and give parents tools to keep children safe.”
As more states join the push for guardrails around social media’s influence on youth, advocates hope it will catalyze a national reckoning on reining in addictive and exploitative practices that jeopardize the wellbeing of a generation.
NY Governor Kathy Hochul hosted a roundtable with students from Williamsville East High School in Erie County to discuss the youth mental health crisis and the harmful impacts of excessive and addictive social media use. She emphasized the need for legislation to address online safety and regulate social media companies’ practices that negatively affect young people’s mental health.
- Hochul heard directly from students about the positive and negative effects of social media, seeking their recommendations to help younger users.
- She aims to pass bills in the final weeks of the legislative session to complement efforts in tackling the rise in youth mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic’s isolation.
- Hochul criticized social media companies for bombarding students with addictive algorithms and profiting off their personal data, vowing to control these harmful practices through legislation.
- The Governor underscored her commitment to enacting nation-leading laws that protect children’s online safety and curb the detrimental impacts of unhealthy social media usage on youth mental health.
By engaging with students firsthand, Hochul aims to craft effective policies targeting predatory social media tactics that contribute to the youth mental health crisis, positioning New York as a leader in safeguarding young people’s wellbeing in the digital age.
Criticism: Once again listening to the representative of the Democratic Party – the governor, the majority rightly suspect the beautiful words about “care for youth”, “mental health of social network users” – another attack on the rights of Americans to use the free space of the Internet to express their demands for local, state and federal authorities. That, as usual, these decisions will result in the fact that bureaucrats will decide what the “truth” is, how best to remove the “wrong truth” away from the public eye and, of course, influence the election results – including the “author” of the “struggle” project himself with freedom of speech on social networks.