Utah Lawmakers Prepare Rewrite of Teen Social Media Restrictions

Utah lawmakers are considering sweeping revisions to the state’s first-in-the-nation youth social media restrictions ahead of their effective date after facing tech industry litigation.

Bills introduced this month—with both slated to get their first legislative committee hearings Wednesday—keep the thrust of the 2023 laws to give parents and children more control over social media use and penalize companies for certain harms. The proposed legislative changes would alter the initial approach, adding steps that social media sites could take to guard against civil lawsuits and other enforcement.

The debate comes as Utah and other states that followed its policy lead address ...