Social Media Laws for Kids Should Pinch Platforms, Lawmaker Says

Lawmakers who want to protect kids online should move forward with safeguards despite opposition from the tech industry, the sponsor of Utah’s first-in-the-nation social media law told legislators from around the country Monday.

“If the tech industry supports your bill and they’re all in with you, I think you should take a hard look at your bill and what you’re trying to create in your state,” state Sen. Michael McKell (R) said at the National Conference of State Legislatures legislative summit in Indianapolis. “I think your bill should be something that they oppose.”

McKell’s comments came as part of a panel highlighting state approaches—and industry pushback—to regulating how youth use social media. The issue of online safety and privacy for kids has drawn bipartisan attention by state lawmakers this year as they seek to address youth mental health issues and other concerns.

The tech industry group NetChoice, whose members include Google and Meta, has opposed Utah’s approach and sued over a California law that imposes design and privacy requirements on sites that youth under 18 are likely to access. NetChoice also has challenged an Arkansas law requiring parental consent for social media. The group said the law violates the First Amendment and has raised concerns over verifying user identity.

“We’re talking about a loss of anonymity,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel for NetChoice, said at the panel.

State Action

The Utah law enacted this year requires age verification for social media accounts and parental consent for users under 18. It adds specific requirements for a minor’s account, such as prohibiting direct messaging with non-friends and prohibiting the display of advertising.

The law includes a private right of action. A separate Utah law prohibits social media design features that are addictive to minors.

The Utah approach differs from California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, which has sparked similar proposals in other states. California’s law requires sites to implement specific features and data practices for youth under 18.

In Minnesota, a bill modeled after California’s code stalled this year but will be back next session, said state Rep. Kristin Bahner (D), who is pushing the legislation.

Age-appropriate design codes are based on the argument that the design of social media puts children at risk. Legislation aims to make safety part of the design by giving kids the highest privacy settings, limiting data collection, preventing the use of data to target kids, and other requirements, Bahner said.

“Our constituents want us to act and they are demanding that we act,” she said at the panel.

Bahner said tech industry arguments against the laws amount to fearmongering.

“They do not want you to realize that the time has come when the industry must act,” she said. “If they cannot or will not act on their own, we as legislators are there to step in.”

Szabo, though, argued parents can take a more active role in how their children use social media.

“For somebody sitting in a state capitol, or more importantly in Silicon Valley, to decide what is appropriate for my family and my children—some of whom are more mature in certain aspects and less mature in other aspects—simply because of their age doesn’t make a lick of sense,” he said.