BILL: Should Kids Be Banned From Social Media? - The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act - S.1291

The Bill

S.1291 - The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act

Bill Details

• Sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on April 26, 2023
• Co-sponsored by Tom Cotton (R-Ariz.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.)
• The sponsoring senators argue that the existing federal children's privacy law, COPPA, is too difficult to enforce.

Bill Overview

• The bipartisan bill would ban children under 13 from using popular social media sites and apps like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and more, effectively creating a national minimum age.
• Children would still be able to view content on the sites without logging in but would not be able to create accounts or interact with other users.
• Teens under 18 would need parental consent to utilize social media sites.
• The legislation would put in place an age verification scheme to make it harder for kids to bypass the restrictions.

What's in the Bill?

Social media ban for children under 13

• The senators who have introduced the bill point to social media's role in the mental health crisis, having taken cues from legislation recently introduced in Arkansas and Utah.

Age verification system

• Seeks to establish a government-run age verification program that can verify children's ages and their parents' identities via third-party verification sites.
• The federal age verification program would be administered by the Department of Commerce and would, as of now, be voluntary.
• Tech companies could also create an in-house age verification system under the bill.

Parental permission to be required for teens 13-18

• Requires tech companies to get parents' explicit consent before creating accounts for teens under the age of 18.
• Parents would be allowed to monitor their teens' accounts.

Restrictions on targeted ads and content

• The tech companies would not be allowed to use the teens' personal information to target them with content or advertising. They would be able to provide limited recommendations, however, the specifics have not been unveiled yet in the draft copy of the bill. 

Addresses the teen mental health crisis

• A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that 42% of high school students surveyed experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness over the last year, and experts believe this can be attributed to social media.
• Sen. Britt said:

"As adults, how many of you have struggled with what someone has posted on social media, or what someone has said or what someone has done?"  

What Supporters are Saying

• Sen. Schatz, one of the sponsors of the federal bill, said Congress needs to act:

"Social media companies have stumbled onto a stubborn, devastating fact. The way to get kids to linger on the platforms and to maximize profit is to upset them — to make them outraged, to make them agitated, to make them scared, to make them vulnerable, to make them feel helpless, anxious [and] despondent."

• In response to criticism of the age verification scheme, Sen. Cotton said:

"If a child is, say, too young to sign a contract or too young to open a bank account in the real world, they're too young to sign terms of service agreements and use social media in the digital world." 

• Sen. Schatz said:

"The tech industry is going to come at this bill, and every other kids' online safety bill, with everything it's got. But the burden of proof is on those who want to protect the status quo, because the status quo is making a whole generation of users mentally ill."

• Sen. Murphy said:

"This is a reality that we don't have to accept. The alarm bells about social media's devastating impact on kids have been sounding for a long time, and yet time and time again, these companies have proven they care more about profit than preventing the well-documented harm they cause. None of this is out of Congress's control."

What Opponents are Saying

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), sponsoring a similar bill named the Kids' Online Safety Act, is concerned about the age verification element:

"I have some concerns about an age identification system that would create a national database with personal information about kids in the hands of Big Tech, potentially leading to misuse or exploitation. I have other concerns about a bill that would put accountability on parents rather than on Big Tech, as our legislation does."

• Zamaan Qureshi, co-chair of the coalition Design It For Us, said the focus should be on redesigning social media platforms:

"We believe that any legislation addressing harm on social media should put the onus on companies to make their platforms safer, instead of preventing kids and teens from being on platforms at all."

• The legislation has raised debates about the role of parents versus the government in deciding what their children do online. It has introduced a broader discussion about the privacy and constitutional rights of young Americans.
• Critics worry that the need for parental approval could impact vulnerable teen populations like LGBTQ+ teens.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation said of Utah's ban:

"Requiring that all users in Utah tie their accounts to their age, and ultimately, their identity, will lead to fewer people expressing themselves, or seeking information online. Those in Utah would likely be age-gated offline."

Do you support restrictions on social media use for kids under 18?

—Emma Kansiz 

(Photo Credit: Canva)