 "social media")
Last week, Spencer J Cox, the governor of Utah in the USA, signed two bills regulating the use of social media among minors. The set of legislations calls for social media platforms to verify the age of their users and restrict the usage for those of or below the age of 18.
For years, the impact of social media usage has been a matter of debate across the globe. Parents, teachers and experts have repeatedly argued that these platforms impact children's mental and physical health. Several scientific studies have proved it.
A 2022 research by Jean M Twenge, Jonathan Haidt, Jimmy Lozano and Kevin M Cummins concluded that social media usage was linked to poor mental health in children, especially among girls.
Another 2021 research by Luca Braghieri, Ro'ee Levy and Alexey Makarin said that the "diffusion of social media coincided with a worsening of mental health condition among adolescents and young adults in the USA, giving rise to speculation that social media might be detrimental to mental health".
The demands for parental control on social media platforms grew louder in 2021 after Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook's civic integrity team, revealed that the company's products were causing harm to the mental health of children, but it did not take the required actions.
What do the bills in Utah propose?
Utah governor Cox has signed two bills. The first one is called Senate Bill 152. It requires the social media companies to verify the age of the Utah resident before letting them sign up on their platform.
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If the users are below 18 years of age, they will have to get consent from a parent or guardian. The parents will get full access to the child's account. Additionally, the platforms will have to create a default curfew setting which will not allow the children to use the platform between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am. It would only be adjusted by the parents.
In addition, the companies will not be allowed to collect user data from such accounts. The companies will not be allowed to target these accounts for advertisement.
The second bill, Senate Bill 311, mainly outlines the penalties for social media platforms that target children below 18 years of age. The companies will have to pay $250,000 if they use addictive design features.
What is the debate about?
The bills' critics state that they will make it difficult for consumers to use the services anonymously. It might give companies the power to collect more data than before. Also, LGBTQ children or those battling with abusive situations might find it difficult to raise their voices on social media due to strict parental control.
However, supporters have said that the tools social media platforms implement willingly are not enough. In a recent State of the Union address, even US president Joe Biden said that social media platforms are "experimenting" on children.
Several other states, including Arkansas, Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas, are also considering bringing similar laws in the coming months.
Are there any such laws in India?
While there are no laws to restrict the usage of social media by children in India, the Centre notified IT amendment rules in 2022, asking the social media companies to abide by the provisions of the Constitution of India.
In the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022, the platforms were asked to set up a Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to settle issues of users against the platforms.
In the proposed Digital India Act, 2023, the IT ministry said that it would come up with norms of "age-gating by regulating addictive tech and protect minors' data, safety and privacy of children on social media platforms, gaming and betting apps; Mandatory "do not track" requirement to avoid children as data subjects for ad targeting, etc."
