Luke Himmelsbach’s Post

The new law to protect children on social media has been officially signed. _______________ The SAFE For Kids Act Addictive feeds, or algorithmically driven feeds, facilitate unhealthy levels of social media use. This legislation will require social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18. Unless parental consent is granted, users under 18 will not receive addictive feeds. Notably, the SAFE for Kids Act is the first bill of its kind to be signed into law in any state across the nation. Under this law, kids may still use social media. For example, they can continue to search for specific topics of interest or subscribe to creators but will not be subject to algorithmically driven feeds that promote unhealthy levels of engagement. The law will also prohibit social media platforms from sending notifications regarding addictive feeds to minors from 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. without parental consent. The law will authorize the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to enforce the law and ensure compliance, including by seeking civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, among other remedies. And finally, it calls for the establishment of acceptable age verification and parent consent methods, to be determined by the OAG as part of a rulemaking process.

Florida passes Restrictive Social Media Ban for teens. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday, imposing one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors. The new law, effective Jan. 1, prohibits social media accounts for children under 14 and mandates parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds. This legislation marks a significant step in regulating minors’ access to social media, addressing concerns about their exposure to addictive technologies. Speaker Paul Renner emphasized the need for intervention, stating, “A child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from it.” The bill’s journey to law faced adjustments, with DeSantis vetoing an earlier version that proposed a ban for minors under 16. A compromise was reached, and a revised bill was presented and passed. The law aims to combat addictive features in social media, such as notification alerts and auto-play videos. However, it is expected to face legal challenges, particularly concerning First Amendment issues. Critics argue that the law infringes on young people’s rights to online information and oversteps governmental boundaries in parenting decisions. As Florida awaits potential legal battles, the nation watches closely to see the implications of this pioneering legislation on social media regulation and minors’ online safety. #SocialMediaBan #Florida #OnlineSafety #YouthProtection #LegalChallenges #ParentalConsent #socialnetworking #data

What i believe, and what’s not mentioned in this article, is that banning social media shouldn’t be a conversation of this or that. It has to be a multi-pronged approach, including the government, education AND parents. Like smoking. 🚬 Like gambling. 🎰 Like alcohol. 🍷 The government says these things are illegal before a certain age. ☝️ ☝️ ☝️ Can and do kids still do it? Yes. Some will but (1) it’ll be harder for them to get it (unless they’re on social media of course, seeing that it’s easy to get your hands on all things illegal online) AND (2) parents and educators will be more likely to educate their kids about its dangers. Law sets the stage for society’s values and morals. But…how do we educate the public? And how do we enforce laws around social media? What are the consequences for youth who break them? Lots to consider. Main point being that it’s not simply this or that. https://lnkd.in/grnwbBrJ

It’s good there is some momentum around trying to do something to protect kids from the harms of being thrust into an adult world too soon. (Any word on the Senate scheduling a floor vote for #kosa ? 62 cosponsors, but will they actually keep it progressing? 🤷♀️) And: Some parents already lie about their kid’s ages. They let their toddlers and elementary school kids use Snapchat and other adult apps, even where the current restrictions are for users over 13. Because “the filters are funny.” In my work with parents, I’ve learned that a rather disheartening number of parents genuinely don’t know the risks or understand why it matters. We *have* to educate parents. (And schools, who largely still do a terrible job of monitoring and restricting even school-issued devices, and often thwart other parents’ efforts to delay or restrict access to adult digital spaces at home.) 💡EDUCATION. We need a massive, unified and simply-messaged public awareness campaign as ubiquitous as “Got milk?” or “Click it or ticket.” or even “Just Say No” (which maybe wasn’t the most effective campaign… but for people of a certain age, everyone remembers it, even now.) Fragmented messaging won’t get us there. 💡 ACCURATE INFORMATION. We also need to deal with the fact that current “age ratings” given in app stores are dangerously misleading, incomplete, easily overlooked and misunderstood. This matters so much. Even parents who are genuinely trying to provide a reasonably developmentally-optimal digital landscape for their kids get blindsided because what’s really in apps is obfuscated.

This week, the Governor of Florida signed HB 3 ( an act relating to online protections for minors into law), which will require social media platforms to get parental consent before a minor under 14 can create an account, an age verification process for online access to materials harmful to minors, and other restrictions. So...what is a "social media platform" under this law? It is an online forum, website, or application that: ✔ allows users to upload content or view the content or activity of other users ✔10% or more of the daily active users who are younger than 16 years of age spend on average two hours per day or longer on the online forum, website, or application on the days when using the online forum, website, or application during the previous 12 months or, if the online forum, website, or application did not exist during the previous 12 months, during the previous month (so much math!) ✔employs algorithms that analyze user data or information on users to select content for users; AND ✔has any of the following addictive features: 📱 infinite scrolling; 📱 push notifications or alerts sent by the online forum, website, or application to inform a user about specific activities or events related to the user's account 📱displays personal interactive metrics that indicate the number of times other users have clicked a button to indicate their reaction to content or have shared or reposted the content; 📱auto-play video or video that begins to play without the user first clicking on the video or on a play button for that video; OR 📱 live streaming or a function that allows a user or advertiser to broadcast live video content in real-time. You have until January 1, 2025 to determine whether you are a social media platform and to implement these restrictions.

Starting July 2024, Florida will enforce a ban on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for children under 14. For a while, the U.S. has been debating the negative impact social media can have on kids. This week, the Governor of Florida put his signature on a new law. The new law bans children under 14 from using social media. Minors aged 14 or 15 years will need explicit parental consent to create an account. This change is set to kick in on the 1st of July, 2024. So, from this summer, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., must close accounts that don't meet these requirements. The ban has been criticised and is expected to face legal challenges. It will be interesting to see if the bill survives. But, in the meantime, the tech giants will need to start implementing solutions now. The ban will take effect in 3 months...

This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis passed a new law restricting minors under 14 from having a social media account regardless of parental consent and allowing kids ages 14-15 only AFTER parental consent. https://bit.ly/3VAwrbN ❓What do you think about this legislation? As parents how much help do you want from the government when it comes to social media access? At Defend Young Minds, we recommend parents delay social media until at least age 16, and even then to proceed with caution. **If you think your child is ready for social media, check out our IG highlight bubble titled "SOCIAL MEDIA" for our best tips to introduce teens to social media. https://lnkd.in/gT56nUph ⚠️And keep in mind that your child may still be on social media even if they: ❗don’t have permission from you, ❗don’t have their own phone, ❗don’t have social media apps on their phone, or ❗aren’t old enough to create a social media account. It’s important to be talking with them about social media whether or not you think they are on it. If they aren’t, they have friends who are and who talk about it. Make sure you’re talking to them about it, too.

The Senate on Tuesday passed bipartisan legislation to impose sweeping safety and privacy requirements for children and teens on social media and other technology platforms, voting overwhelmingly to send the measure to the House. The vote was 91 to 3 to approve the measure. The legislation is the product of years of work by lawmakers and parents to overhaul digital privacy and safety laws as social networking sites, digital gaming and other online platforms increasingly dominate children's and teens' lives. Maya C. Miller and The New York Times published an article outlining the Child Online Safety Bill and why it's important: https://lnkd.in/dvUYD_7C This is a positive outcome and aligns with the findings from this week's book review, covering The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. We must work to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood. Read this week's newsletter (https://lnkd.in/gMFqn2nm) and follow us for more!

Senate Passes Child Online Safety Bill, Sending It to an Uncertain House Fate https://ift.tt/PgLTfo0 The Senate on Tuesday passed bipartisan legislation to impose sweeping safety and privacy requirements for children and teens on social media and other technology platforms, voting overwhelmingly to send the measure to the House, where its fate was uncertain. Passage of the measure, which has been the subject of a dogged advocacy campaign by parents who say their children lost their lives because of something they found or saw on social media, marked a rare bipartisan achievement at a time of deep polarization in Congress. But despite the lopsided support among Republicans and Democrats, the package faces a fierce lobbying effort by technology companies that are resisting new regulation, and deep skepticism among free speech advocates who argue that it would chill individual expression and potentially harm some of those whom the bill aims to protect. The vote was 91 to 3 to approve the measure, sending it to the House, which is in a summer recess until September. The legislation is the product of years of work by lawmakers and parents to overhaul digital privacy and safety laws as social networking sites, digital gaming and other online platforms increasingly dominate children’s and teens’ lives. “I used to run marathons, and I feel like I used to feel halfway through: ‘Wow, I got this far, and I’m feeling good,’” Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and one of the chief sponsors of the legislation, said in an interview on Tuesday. “The second half can be the toughest in some ways, but also the easiest psychologically because you see the end in sight.” The centerpiece of the legislation would create a “duty of care” for social networking platforms that mandates they protect minors against mental health disorders and from abuse, sexual exploitation and other harms. Companies could be held liable for failing to filter out content or limit features that could lead to those adverse impacts. Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. Business News via NYT > Business https://ift.tt/ycSK7Ea July 30, 2024 at 10:15AM

“Federal Judge Halts Implementation of Ohio's Social Media Law Affecting Minors⚖️👨👩👧👦💻✨” Ohio’s recent legislation intended to restrict minors' access to social media has been temporarily halted by a federal court ruling. The law, which demanded that social media platforms confirm the ages of users and acquire parental consent for users under 16, has faced legal challenges. The legal challenge against the law was spearheaded by NetChoice, a trade association representing various social media platforms, including TikTok and X. The group argues that the law infringes upon users' rights and could negatively impact social media companies. Under the proposed law, social media platforms would be required to verify user ages through government-issued ID checks or digital consent forms. Additionally, platforms would need to obtain parental consent for underage users and provide confirmation to the parents. NetChoice contends that the law is a violation of free speech rights and is excessively broad, potentially leading to restricted access to entire websites. The federal judge presiding over the case largely concurred with NetChoice's arguments, indicating a high likelihood of their success in the lawsuit. On the other hand, Ohio state legislators defend the law as a measure to support the mental health of children and shield them from harmful online content. They cite social media as a contributing factor to rising rates of depression and child abuse among young people. This legal battle in Ohio follows a pattern of NetChoice successfully challenging similar social media laws in other states, including California and Arkansas. #OhioSocialMediaLaw #ChildOnlineProtection #NetChoiceLegalBattle #YouthSocialMediaAccess #InternetSafetyLegislation