Not So Social: Utah’s new law to regulate use of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok for kids

If you are in the American state of Utah and under the age of 18, you will now require your parents’ consent to join any social media platform. Want to be on Twitter, get consent from your parents. Instagram? Same. TikTok — the answer is the same.

With this move, Utah has become the first state in the US prohibiting social media services from allowing access to minors without parental consent.

While signing the legislation into effect, Utah governor Spencer Cox said, “We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth.”

We take a closer look at the laws now restricting children from using social media apps and the reasons for it.

Utah’s new social media laws, explained

On Thursday, Governor Spencer J Cox signed a sweeping social media bill, limiting youth access to apps like TikTok and Instagram. This was done after he signed into law the H.B. 311 and S.B. 152 bills.

Under the legislation, which comes into effect in March 2024, social media companies will have to verify the age of a Utah resident seeking to maintain or open an account. If the user is below the age of 18, the company will require to get the consent of a parent or guardian. Moreover, the law will allow parents to get full access to their child’s account. Additionally, it will create a default curfew setting that blocks access overnight — 10.30 pm to 6.30 am — which can be adjusted by the parents.

The new legislation also prohibits direct messaging by anyone who the child has followed. Social media companies will also not be allowed to collect data from a child’s account and cannot target the accounts of children for advertising.

The law has also set down penalties in case the tech giants break the new rules. The House Bill 311 allows for a $250,000 (Rs 2.05 crore) fine for social media companies, which use addictive design features. Furthermore, the law also allows parents to sue social media companies directly for financial, physical, or emotional harms in certain circumstances.

While Utah is the first state with such laws, other American states are also advocating for similar legislation. Arkansas, Texas, Ohio and Louisiana New Jersey are advancing similar proposals.

California has already enacted a law last year requiring tech companies to put kids’ safety first by barring them from profiling children or using personal information in ways that could harm children physically or mentally.

Reactions to the legislation

The legislation has been welcomed by parents and lawmakers, who have been complaining of youth addiction to social media, and the security risks it poses such as online bullying and exploitation.

Utah Representative Jordan Teuscher, who co-sponsored the bill, was quoted as telling news agency AFP, “We hope that this is just the first step in many bills that we’ll see across the nation, and hopefully taken on by the federal government.”

Michael McKell, a Republican member of the Utah Senate who sponsored the bill, said the statute was intended to address a “mental health crisis” among American teenagers as well as protect younger users from bullying and child sexual exploitation. “We think social media is a contributing factor,” McKell said in a phone interview to New York Times on Thursday. “We want to tackle that issue.”

Children’s advocacy groups generally welcomed the law, albeit with some caveats. Common Sense Media, a non-profit focusing on kids and technology, hailed the law aimed at reining in social media’s addictive features. It “adds momentum for other states to hold social media companies accountable to ensure kids across the country are protected online,” said Jim Steyer, the CEO and founder of Common Sense.

Also read: Zuckerberg knew Facebook and Instagram were addictive and harmful to children, did nothing

However, not everyone has welcomed the law. Critics argue that the laws are a form of government overreach that will have effects outside the borders of the state. “There’s no way for a platform to know who is or isn’t a full-time Utah resident,” said Ari Cohn, free speech counsel for the tech policy think tank TechFreedom. Cohn said it’s unfeasible to think that social media companies could parse out Utah residents from visitors to the state, or nearby users connecting to the internet via cellphone data networks.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the digital privacy advocacy group, has said that time limits and age verification would infringe on teens’ rights to free speech and privacy. Moreover, verifying every users’ age would empower social media platforms with more data, like the government-issued identification required, they said, as per a report by CBS News.

“Social media provides a lifeline for many young people, in addition to community, education, and conversation,” Jason Kelley, director of activism at the EFF, told CNN. “They use it in part because it can be private… The law, which would limit social media access and require parental consent and monitoring for minors, will incalculably harm the ability of young people to protect their privacy and deter them from exercising their rights.”

The group said that with the implementation of this law, “the majority of young Utahns will find themselves effectively locked out of much of the web.”

Lucy Ivey, an 18-year-old TikTok influencer, also expressed concern about the bill and its effect on LGBTQ teens. In a CNN report, she was quoted as saying, “My worry with this bill is that it will take away privacy from teenagers, and a lot of kids don’t have good relationships with their parents or don’t have a reliable guardian that would be needed to get access to social media.

“I think about my LGBTQ friends; some who have had a hard time with their parents because of their sexuality or identity, and they could be losing an important place where they can be themselves, and be seen and heard.”

Social media and children

The legislation comes at a time when there are growing concerns about social media addiction among the youth and the negative impact is has on them. Several studies have proven that extended periods of time on social media apps affect the well-being of children and adolescents.

Research has shown that the algorithms used by the tech companies keep users engaged longer, and studies show the more kids and teens spend on social media, the more likely they’ll be depressed. Data has revealed that overuse of social media intensifies certain symptoms, such as social isolation and loneliness.

Also read: The new idiot box: Long hours on social media alters the brain in children and young teens, makes them dull

The beauty and body standards perpetuated by social media also makes young girls vulnerable and more prone to eating disorders. Studies have shown that scrolling through an unlimited supply of carefully crafted images and then comparing them with your own real-life circumstances can have a noticeable effect on mood and psychological health. Moreover, seeing yourself too often in a filtered selfie can warp perception, resulting in unhappiness.

In order to deal with these issues and appear to be responsible, some social media companies have taken measures. For instance, TikTok has set screen time limits. But experts on children’s welfare and mental health say that it isn’t enough and some curbs or limits need to be set for social media use for the young.

With inputs from agencies

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