(WATE) From WATE: Tennessee House Bill 1891 would require social media companies to verify the ages of all users who are under 18 to ensure they have
(WATE)
From WATE: Tennessee House Bill 1891 would require social media companies to verify the ages of all users who are under 18 to ensure they have parental consent to be on these apps.
The bill would create what’s called the “Protecting Children from Social Media Act.” Some lawmakers say this bill should have been implemented years ago.
“It probably should have come about a lot sooner. Social media, I don’t think was ever intended to have the consequences that we have now,” State Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville) said. “There’s a lot of bullying. There’s a lot of shaming and there’s a lot of exposure that our kids are getting.”
Proponents of age verification argue that it would help reduce children’s potential exposure to explicit content. This bill would allow parents, in a way, to take control of kids accounts.
“80% of parents support consent being required for their children to get on social media,” State Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said. “They want to be able to control it, just like parental controls your TV’s and channels you don’t want your kids to watch. It’s the same thing with social media. It’s this avenue for them to just be sucked in and inundated with anything.”
The barrage of content forced on children can have ill effects on their mental health as well.
“While social media is not the only factor in anybody’s mental health, when it gets out of control and starts disrupting some of those daily core features of a child, then that’s when we start looking at the mental health piece of it,” Lindsay Stone with the McNabb Center said. “There are studies that have a correlation between depression and anxiety with social media.”
If the bill becomes law, social media companies will have to make changes to their platform quickly for the state of Tennessee.
“The companies will have 14 days for that parent to come and verify that, ‘yes, I want my son, I want my daughter to have this social media account,’” McKenzie said. “The parents will then have access to it as well. You can talk about privacy and freedom, we are talking about children. Children who are under the auspices of their parents. The parents need to have full access to what they are looking at, where they are going on these social media apps and who’s communicating with them.”
House lawmakers approved the bill in an 88-2 vote. It now heads to the Senate floor. It would take effect in January if passed.
If you or someone you know is battling with their mental health, you are encouraged to call 988 to speak with a mental health professional to figure out what steps you should take next in seeking whatever help you may need.
