A new bipartisan federal proposal introduced in the US Senate today would set a national age limit for using social media, effectively banning anyone 12 and under from using the apps many children currently spend hours a day on.
There are countless efforts floating around Capitol Hill aimed at safeguarding the nation’s children from the dangers of social media, but this new measure, known as the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, takes aim at the algorithms Silicon Valley employs to keep kids on their sites. Specifically, it bars children under 13 from creating accounts on social media apps, while also greatly curtailing the algorithms tech companies could deploy on people between 13 and 17 years old. (Users under 13 would still be able to view online content, provided they aren’t logged into an account.) The bill would also require parental consent before anyone under 18 could create a profile.
To ensure pre-teens and children don’t create social media profiles, the bill would also create a government-run age-verification program, overseen by the Department of Commerce. The system would require children and their parents to upload identification to prove their age. While the legislation doesn’t mandate that companies use the government system, it would nevertheless represent a significant expansion of the government’s role in the online ecosystem.
As such, the bill could upend the internet as we know it by adding substantial government oversight over social media platforms. The bipartisan legislation’s being met with bipartisan skepticism.
“We kind of went through this when Tipper Gore was trying to ban music for some people,” Senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, says upon first hearing of the concept.
The legislation’s sponsors are offended by the comparison. In fact, they say their proposal purposely avoids content altogether.
“Let’s be clear, this bill is completely content neutral,” says senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat. “All it says is that you cannot build a purposefully addictive program that leads especially vulnerable children down deep, deep dark rabbit holes.”
The broadly bipartisan effort also showcases the pressure ratcheting up on party leaders by rank and file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are demanding Congress act to protect children, after years of watching similar efforts dither.
Freshman Senator Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, ran as “a momma on a mission” and says this is a personal issue to her and the others. “Bringing the issues that we talk about as parents in the home, with our friends, we watch unfold before us in our schools and our communities, that’s what we’re here to do, is to bring that voice, the voice of parents,” Britt says.
As to whether their measure could stifle the next generation of tech entrepreneurs, Britt says the opposite is the case. “That’s what we’re fighting for,” Britt says. “You want our kids to be healthy and prepared to achieve their American dream.”
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is the other Republican author. On the Democratic side, senator Murphy of Connecticut is joined by Brian Schatz of Hawaii as a lead sponsor. All four are young, in Senate terms at least, and all have young children.
