A bill has been passed in New York’s state senate that says social media companies can’t show kids under 18 so-called “addictive feeds” without getting permission from their parents.
The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act says that a feed is addictive if it suggests or ranks content based on details about the user or the user’s device. This is a lot like how most social apps use artificial news feeds. It would still be possible to have “non-addictive feeds,” which includes “feeds listed in chronological order.”
The bill is likely to be signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Her office has already released a statement praising its passage, along with the passage of the related New York Child Data Protection Act. This law says that online platforms can’t collect or sell personal information from users under 18 without their permission.
Gov. Hochul said, “New York is leading the nation in protecting our kids from social media feeds that are too addicting and protecting their personal data from companies that want to steal it.” “Together, we’ve made a huge progress in our efforts to stop the mental health crisis among teens and create a safer online space for them.”
The trade group NetChoice, which is made up of Google, Meta, Snap, and TechCrunch’s parent company Yahoo, called the SAFE Act “dangerous and unconstitutional.”
If this bill is passed, social media companies would have to check the ages of their users. Also, platforms would not be able to send these feed-related alerts to kids between midnight and 6 a.m. without their parents’ permission. Companies that break the rule could be fined up to $5,000 for each offense.
One of the leaders of NetChoice, Carl Szabo, said in a statement, “This is an attack on free speech and the open internet by the State of New York.” “New York has made it possible for the government to keep track of what websites people visit and what they do online by making websites block all content unless visitors show ID to prove they are over 18.”
In its statement, NetChoice also says that it has fought similar bills in Ohio, Arkansas, and California and been successful.
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Andrew Gournades, a senator from New York, and Nily Rozic, an assemblymember, pushed the plan. Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, also backs it. (James, Hochul, Gournades, and Rozic are all Democrats.)
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