Bill would ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms

Abstract

A new federal bill unveiled last week would establish a national minimum age for social media use and require tech companies to get parents' consent before creating accounts for teens, reflecting a growing trend at all levels of government to restrict how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms engage with young users, CNN reported April 26. The proposed legislation by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators aims to address what policymakers, mental health advocates and critics of tech platforms say is a mental health crisis fueled by social media. Under the bill, known as the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, social media platforms would be barred from letting kids below the age of 13 create accounts or interact with other users, though children would still be permitted to view content without logging into an account, according to draft text of the legislation. Tech platforms covered by the legislation would also have to obtain a parent or guardian's consent before creating new accounts for users under the age of 18. The companies would be banned from using teens' personal information to target them with content or advertising, though they could still provide limited targeted recommendations to teens by relying on other contextual cues. Most major social media companies already bar kids younger than 13 from their platforms, the result of a federal children's privacy law known as COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). But enforcing the restriction has been a challenge.