Georgia joins states seeking parental permission before children join social media

ATLANTA– Georgia, like other states, could require that children under the age of 16 have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.

Lawmakers gave final approval Friday to Senate Bill 351, which would also ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify that users are 18 or older and require additional education by schools about social media and internet use . The House approved the measure 120-45 and the Senate approved it 48-7.

The bill, which Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas called “transformative,” now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.

A number of other states, including Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Utah, passed laws last year requiring parental consent for children’s use of social media. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked enforcement of a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

Some in Congress are also proposing parental consent for minors.

State Rep. Scott Hilton, a Republican from Peachtree Corners, argued that the state should do more to limit children’s use of social media, which he said causes harm.

“Every rose has a thorn, and that is the social media of this generation,” Hilton said. “It’s great for connectivity and activism, but it has reared its ugly head in the area of ​​mental health.”

But opponents warned the bill would cause problems. Rep. For example, David Wilkerson, a Democrat from Powder Springs, said bans on social media use in schools could deter teachers from showing educationally valuable YouTube videos.

“If we pass this, we will fix this again next year because there are too many problems with this bill,” Wilkerson said.

The bill says social media services would have to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to verify a person’s age by July 1, 2025.

Services should treat anyone who cannot be verified as a minor. Parents of children under the age of 16 must give permission for their children to participate in a service. Social media companies would be limited in how they can tailor ads to children under 16 and how much information they can collect about those children.

To comply with federal regulations, social media companies already ban children under the age of 13 from signing up for their platforms, but it has been found that children can easily circumvent the bans.

Up to 95% of teens ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use them “almost constantly,” the Pew Research Center found.

The bill in Georgia also aims to shut down porn sites by requiring the submission of a digitized ID card or other government-issued ID. Companies could be held liable if minors are found to be accessing the sites, and could face fines of up to $10,000.

“It will protect our children,” said Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Republican from Jasper, who claims age verification will lead to porn sites cutting off access to Georgians. In March, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law cutting off Pornhub’s access to Texans.

The Free Speech Coalition, which represents adult filmmakers, says the bill would be ineffective because it would allow users to mask their location and would force people to hand over sensitive information. They also argue that it is unconstitutional because there are less restrictive ways to keep children out and discriminate against certain forms of expression. The coalition has sued several states over the laws.

The ban on social media in schools does not include email, news, gaming, online shopping, photo editing and academic sites. The measure also requires a model program on the effects of social media and for students in grades 6 through 12, and requires existing anti-bullying programs to be updated.

The move comes after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in May that social media has not been proven safe for young people.

Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to “take immediate action to protect children now” and asked tech companies to share data and increase transparency and for policy makers to regulate social media for safety as they do with car seats and baby food.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instragram, announced in 2022 that it was taking steps to verify the ages. Meta says it offers “age-appropriate experiences” for teens aged 13 to 17 on Instagram, including preventing unwanted contact with unknown adults.

Dozens of US states, including California and New York, also have Meta Platforms Inc. sued, alleging that the company harms young people and contributes to a youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.

Florida recently passed a law banning social media accounts for children under the age of 14, regardless of parental consent, and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds.