Utah restricts social media use without parental consent
SALT LAKE CITY: The Utah governor has signed a law placing restrictions on social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and others for minors to ensure they have parental approval.
According to reports, Governor Spencer Cox signed the law to ensure under-eighteens do not have access to social media without explicit parental permission, especially on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Additionally, the governor signed a bill that prohibits such companies from employing techniques that lead to “addiction” in minors.
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Governor Cox who is a Republican shared the news on Twitter. He wrote, “We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth”. Of the two laws passed by the governor, the first is a state law that limits social media platforms from allowing access to users under the age of eighteen, without proper parental consent, despite opposition, and will come into effect in April.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, social media has had a massive impact on underage users leading to lawmakers questioning its use. On the one hand, Cox passed the bills for the state of Utah while on the other, Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, testified before Congress to address national security concerns, data privacy, and concerns about the mental health of its teenage users.
According to The Guardian, since the first law works around parental consent, it would allow parents and/or guardians to access their children’s posts. The platform will also have to block its young users from accessing social media between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am unless otherwise authorized by parents.
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Likewise, it will bar companies from advertising to minors, including collecting information about them or targeting content specific to their choices. However, there is no set plan on how the state would implement these laws. As it is, such companies are not allowed to collect user data for children under the age of thirteen without parental approval under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), but despite the parameters, children are able to bypass the restrictions with and without permission from their parents.
According to The Guardian, in the wake of the laws’ passing, civil liberties groups have raised concerns about the provisions arguing that they would block “marginalized youth including LGBTQ+ teens from accessing online support networks and information”. Similarly, tech companies have also echoed the concerns.
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Speaking on the recent laws, Nicole Saad Bembridge, an associate director at NetChoice (tech lobby group) said that the state will have to “require online services to collect sensitive data” such as details of families including ages of the children and verifying parental relationships which could out “private data at risk of breach”.
Bembridge added that the laws are an infringement of the “Utahans’ first amendment rights to share and access speech online”.
On the other hand, Republican state senator Michael McKell has said that social media is a “contributing factor” toward poor mental health in teens and that the laws are seeking to address the issue. Similar to Utah, Connecticut and Ohio are also working to put forward such measures requiring permission for users under 16, while Arkansas and Texas require permission for those under 18.
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