US Utah Governor Spencer Cox has signed into law two laws regulating the use of social networks by teenagers in the state. Platforms like Meta*, Snapchat and TikTok will now have to get parental consent before creating accounts for their children. The laws also talk about parental control features, age verification mechanisms, and time limits on social media use.
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The measures approved by the head of the region can radically change the conditions for the presence of minors in social networks. In addition to parental controls and age verification, the laws also prohibit platforms from “using designs or features that cause adolescents to become addicted to the social network.” The new rules go into effect next March, and it’s unclear how the state is going to enforce them, and how they will apply to accounts teens already use.
The initiative met with rejection from human rights activists. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization, said that the laws passed in Utah are contrary to the First Amendment to the US Constitution – it guarantees freedom of speech. However, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said earlier that the age of 13, which is the minimum age for registering teenagers on social networks, is “too early.” In 2021, it became known that Instagram* can have a negative impact on the mental well-being of teenagers, and the management of Meta* (then Facebook*), the platform owner, is aware of this.
* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On countering extremist activity.”
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