New York’s creative solution to targeting children online: Block the algorithms

New York could soon become the first state to pass a law restricting social media platforms from using algorithms to promote content to minors.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers are nearing a legislative deal on the proposal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The bill would push platforms such as TikTok and Meta’s Instagram to rank content in chronological order by default for young users.

That could mean significant changes to how kids in New York interact with social media apps and would make algorithmically generated content feeds an opt-in experience requiring parental consent.