Governor Signs Bill... Effective March Next Year
Parental Consent Required for Account Opening... Time Restrictions Also Applied
Utah has become the first state in the United States to allow parents to restrict their minor children's use of social networking services (SNS).
According to NBC and other foreign media on the 23rd (local time), Spencer Cox, governor of Utah, signed a bill requiring users under the age of 18 to obtain parental permission to use SNS platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
The bill had previously passed the Utah state legislature earlier this month, and with the governor's signature on this day, Utah became the first state in the U.S. where parents can restrict their minor children's SNS usage. Utah is a conservative-leaning state where the Republican Party holds the majority in the state legislature.
On the 23rd (local time), Spencer Cox, Governor of Utah, USA, signed a bill restricting minors' use of social media. [Photo by AP Yonhap News]
Upon signing the new bill, Governor Cox stated, "We will no longer allow SNS companies to harm the mental health of our youth." According to the law, SNS companies must verify the age of new account registrants who are Utah residents, and parental consent is required for users under 18. Additionally, parents are allowed access to their minor children's account posts.
SNS companies are prohibited from displaying advertisements targeting minors and must not expose minor accounts in search results. They are also forbidden from collecting information targeting minors or suggesting specific content, as well as intentionally applying addictive technologies.
A notable aspect of the new law is the imposition of an "SNS curfew" for minors. Without parental consent, minor users' devices will have their SNS accounts locked from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., preventing access during these hours.
Michael McKell, a Republican member of the Utah legislature who led the bill's creation, said, "We have never seen mental health become such a problem in American history," and expressed hope that "this movement will spread nationwide." According to NBC, four other states?Ohio, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Arkansas?are reviewing similar bills.
"Criticism that the government is exerting excessive influence"
SNS companies oppose this bill, and there are criticisms that the government is exerting excessive influence.
A Meta spokesperson, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, said, "We want youth to be safe online and have developed more than 30 technologies to support youth and families," adding, "These include parental and child cooperation for limiting Instagram usage time and age verification technologies that provide age-appropriate experiences."
Also, a representative from the think tank TechFreedom criticized, "There is no way to distinguish whether a user is a Utah resident or a visitor on SNS," and said, "Age verification means that anonymity on SNS is no longer possible." They further argued, "SNS is a channel to criticize those in power, elected officials, and oppressive governments."
The lobbying group NetChoice also stated, "Such laws violate the guarantee of freedom of expression," and speculated, "Utah will soon require SNS companies to collect sensitive information from youth and parents."
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