ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could join other states in requiring children to get their parents’ express permission to create social media accounts.
Two leading Republicans in the Georgia State Senate — Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and Senator Jason Anavitarte of Dallas — said in a news conference Monday that they will seek passage of such legislation in 2024. The proposal could also restrict accounts with other online services.
“It’s important that we empower parents,” Anavitarte said. “Many parents don’t know how to restrict content.”
Anavitarte said Georgia’s rules are modeled after a law Louisiana passed earlier this year. This measure, which will go into effect in 2024, will require social media services to verify an account holder’s age and not allow anyone under the age of 18 to join without parental consent.
Arkansas, Texas and Utah also passed laws this year requiring parental consent for children’s use of social media. Some in Congress are also proposing parental consent for minors.
California passed a law last year that requires online services to do more to protect children’s privacy and safety.
Anavitarte said he had brief contact with Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. He and Jones said they were discussing plans with the social media giant.
The move comes after US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in May that social media was not proven safe for young people. Murthy urged tech companies, parents and caregivers to “take immediate action to protect children now.” He called on tech companies to share data and increase transparency, and urged policymakers to regulate social media like they regulate car seats and baby food for safety reasons.
To comply with state regulations, social media companies are already banning children under the age of 13 from signing up on their platforms. However, it has been shown that children can easily avoid the prohibitions.
Up to 95% of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use it “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.
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Anavitarte also said he wants to strengthen Georgia’s anti-cyberbullying law. Under current law, any student found to have been bullied three times must be sent to another school. Anavitarte said he wants to revive his 2022 proposal for schools to warn students and parents that some acts of bullying could result in criminal penalties for stalking.
Meta announced last year that it was taking steps to verify an individual’s age, including allowing people to upload their ID or take a video selfie; and a partnership with an age verification company. According to Meta, it offers “age-appropriate experiences” for teens between the ages of 13 and 17 on Instagram, including preventing unwanted contacts from unfamiliar adults.
Anavitarte backed a new law earlier this year that would ban the installation or use of TikTok, Telegram, WeChat and other applications on government computers.
Free speech advocates warn that the measures could result in websites sealing off information and even making it harder for adults to access it.
The new laws could also result in platforms requiring people to use government-issued ID to verify age.
This is already happening on some pornography sites targeted by laws in Louisiana, Utah and Virginia. The Free Speech Coalition sued Utah and Louisiana on behalf of adult entertainers, adult writers, sex educators and occasional porn viewers, arguing that those laws were unconstitutional because they discriminated against certain types of speech. A Utah judge dismissed the lawsuit last week, saying the challengers could not sue because of the way the law was designed.
