Veronica Irwin

A new report from the American Psychological Association (APA) alleges that social media platforms are unsuitable for younger users. It’s one of the first major reports synthesizing domestic research on social media’s impacts on children.

“The platforms seem to be designed to keep kids engaged for as long as possible, to keep them on there. And kids are just not able to resist those impulses as effectively as adults,” APA chief science officer Mitch Prinstein told CNBC. “The fact that this is interfering with their in-person interactions, their time when they should be doing schoolwork, and — most importantly — their sleep has really important implications.”

[Read more…] about Doom Scrolling is hurting kids, says American Psychological Association

Georgia lawmakers gave final approval to a state law Friday which would restrict access to social media for minors under the age of 16 without parental consent. Critics say the law is doomed, after a nearly identical Ohio law was blocked by a federal judge in February on First Amendment grounds.

“The ability of minors to access non-obscene content without parental consent has been upheld as a First Amendment right in itself, and that right carries through to internet services,” testified R Street Institute Director Marc Heyden, quoting his colleague Josh Withrow, before the Georgia House Education Policy Subcommittee last month. “This is especially true given that optional content-filtering software already exists that parents can install on their children’s devices if they so wish,” he said in his own words. 

[Read more…] about Georgia’s New Law to Protect Children Online Doomed from the Start

After the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in support of a TikTok ban Tuesday, surprising rifts have arisen between the bill’s advocates and those who say it does an inadequate job of protecting children online. 

“We don’t have only a TikTok problem — we have a Big Tech privacy problem,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “From Meta to Amazon to Discord, US-owned companies are preying on children & teens for profit. We don’t need to ban Tiktok to fix their invasive practices.” 

[Read more…] about Would a TikTok ban affect children’s online safety?

A District Judge invalidated a proposed Ohio law Monday that would have required parental consent for children under 16 to use social media apps. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley was ruling on a court case between tech industry group NetChoice and the Ohio Attorney General, in which the industry group argued such a law would violate teen users’ First Amendment rights. The proposed law, titled the Social Media Parental Notification Act, was Ohio Republicans’ attempt at curbing mental health and predation risks for children online — the first of several similar state laws being debated across the country.

Republican Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted pushed for the law, arguing that social media companies intentionally design their products to be addictive to children. “These companies could solve this problem without passing new laws, but they refuse to do so,” he said in a Monday press release. “Because social media companies will not be responsible, we must hold them accountable.”

[Read more…] about Ohio law meant to protect children on social media fails in court