Headline Roundup • March 24th, 2023
Utah Approves New Social Media Restrictions Aimed at Protecting Minors
Technology,Utah,Federal State And Tribal Powers,State Governments,Spencer Cox,Social Media,Parenting,Children,Teenagers,Mental Health,Public Health,Facebook,Instagram,Twitter,TikTok,Snapchat,Free Speech,Business
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills on Thursday placing several new restrictions on minors’ social media use, including requiring parental consent for minors to create accounts.
The Details: The bills, H.B. 311 and S.B. 152, also require social media platforms to verify the ages of Utah users, grant parents access to their children’s social media posts, and restrict access to minors’ accounts between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Furthermore, H.B. 311 fines social media companies $2,500 for each Utah minor exposed to features found to have caused addiction to their platforms. The laws will not take effect until March 2024.
For Context: Utah is the first U.S. state to approve these kinds of regulations. Gov. Cox has defended the new laws by accusing social media companies of “killing our kids,” adding, “It’s the addictive qualities of social media that are intentionally being placed by these companies to get our kids addicted, and they know it’s harming them.” Health officials have noted significant declines in teen mental health, particularly among girls, since the rise of major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was common in major outlets across the spectrum. Coverage varied on framing the laws as aiming to “protect” young people from harm or to “restrict” their social media use; this difference did not appear to correlate with bias ratings.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah is the first state in the nation to begin restricting how minors can use social media apps. Gov. Spencer Cox signed a pair of bills on Thursday that will regulate when and how minors in Utah can use of social media and aims to stop those companies from designing addicting features.
Those new laws will likely lead to a protracted legal fight with the tech industry over privacy and First Amendment issues.
SB152 from Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, will slap several regulations on social media companies on March 1,...
GETTY IMAGES
Utah has become the first US state to require social media firms get parental consent for children to use their apps and verify users are at least 18.
The governor said he signed the two sweeping measures to protect young people in the state.
The bills will give parents full access to their children's online accounts, including posts and private messages.
The move comes amidst heightened concern over the impact of social media on children's mental health.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
New laws in Utah are aimed at significantly restricting access to social media apps for children under 18 years old.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills into law on Thursday in efforts to shield minors from addictive platforms, such as TikTok. Collectively, both laws seek to prevent children from being lured to apps and from having ads promoted to them.
When the laws take effect in March 2024, kids under 18 will be prohibited from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. and age verification will...
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