Bipartisan social media age limit bill would usurp role of parents, industry argues

New bipartisan legislation limiting the age of children and teenagers on social media strips authority away from parents and gives it to the government instead, the industries affected by the bill say.

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Tom Cotton (R-AK) introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act on Wednesday. The bill would set a minimum age of 13 for users to be allowed to have accounts on social media apps such as Instagram or TikTok, while users between the ages of 13 and 17 would require parental approval. It would also limit the algorithmic content promotion to users 18 or younger and launch a pilot program to establish a federal digital ID system for confirming user identities.

The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate, meaning it is a serious proposal for the industry to reckon with. Groups representing the tech industry in Washington are arguing that it is a threat to user privacy and parental rights.

"Being a parent in the twenty-first century is hard, but inserting the government between parents and their teens is the wrong approach," NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel Carl Szabo said in a statement. NetChoice is a right-leaning tech industry group that advocates for Silicon Valley.