New state legislation aims to address youth social media addiction
State lawmakers are pushing for legislation to address youth social media addiction.
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State lawmakers are pushing for legislation to address youth social media addiction.
"In states, we have to take control of these issues," said state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff.
Alarming data from the American Psychological Association found that teens are spending an average of nearly five hours a day on social media platforms.
"We're seeing a lot of mental health issues with phones and addiction to phones and apps. We're seeing higher suicide rates," said Duff.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong Monday laid out his proposed legislation to combat social media addictions. They include:
Restriction of access
Parental consent & age verification
Modification of platform interaction
Parents would be able to set limits on when minors can receive notifications
Social media platforms would be required to disclose certain information on an annual basis.
"For teenagers, [social media] is a constant source of anxiety and these companies target young people with what are known as haptics. Those are the rings and the notifications and the updates and the buzzing and the devices that get you engaged," said Tong.
Tong's proposed legislation is modeled after similar measures in New York and California. A lobbying firm called Technet, says other states have run into legal challenges when trying to regulate content. The company also said social media companies already offer protection.
Tong says his legislation would also establish a series of default settings regarding account privacy, time of use and notifications, including barring notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. and limiting social media use to one hour per-day.
A Meta spokesperson released the following statement: “We share the goal of keeping teens safe online, but Attorney General Tong's proposal falls short of the parent-directed protections offered by Instagram Teen Accounts and prohibits technology that actually helps us keep teens safe. There’s a better way: legislation should require app stores to get parents’ approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps.”
