SALT LAKE CITY: Utah has become the first US state to require social media firms to get parental permission for anyone under 18 to use their apps.
The governor of Utah, Spencer Cox signed the sweeping social media legislation on Thursday, which he said was to protect young people in the state.
He also signed a bill prohibiting social media firms from employing techniques that could cause minors to develop an “addiction” to the platforms.
Under the newly enacted measures, explicit consent by a parent or guardian will be required before children can create accounts on apps such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The bills will also give parents or guardians full access to children’s online accounts, including posts and private messages, and prohibit social media firms from advertising to minors, collecting information about them or targeting content to them. The platforms will also be required to block users younger than 18 from accessing accounts between 10.30pm and 6.30am unless parents modify the settings.
The move comes amidst heightened concern over social media’s impact on children’s mental health.
The newly enacted law is the first state legislation in US prohibiting social media services from allowing access to minors without parental consent. Utah’s Republican-controlled legislature passed both bills earlier this month, despite opposition from civil liberties groups.
However, it is still not clear how will the new laws be enforced.
Social media’s impact on children
The impact of social media on children has become a topic of growing debate among legislators at the state and federal levels.
Under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, companies are already prohibited from collecting data on children younger than 13 without the consent of their parents. Subsequently, social media firms already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms – but children are easily able to get around it, both with and without their parents’ permission.
