social media
The law bans children and teens from having accounts without adult consent, imposes a “night curfew” and other rules; see changes
InfoMoney Team 03/24/2023 12:47 Updated 4 hours ago
The US state of Utah has created a law that prohibits the use of social networks such as e.g Instagram and the Facebookfrom the company Meta (M1TA34), and the tick tock, by Chinese ByteDance, by children and young people. Restrictions include parental consent for children under 18 to use both social networks.
The law, passed by the local legislature this month and signed into law by Gov. Spencer J. Cox on Thursday, will go into effect in March 2024.
“We will no longer allow social media companies to continue to harm the mental health of our young people,” Cox wrote on Twitter. “The levels of depression and other mental health problems among young people are increasing because of social media companies. As leaders and parents, we have a responsibility to protect our youth.”
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The state of Utah, located in the western United States and bordered by Arizona, Colorado and Nevada, was the first in the country to restrict access to social networks. The government even set up a website to explain the new laws: http://socialmedia.utah.gov.
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The restrictions were signed into law the same day TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress. TikTok is under increasing pressure in the United States over concerns that US user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
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The Chinese social network is facing a political offensive from all quarters: from the Joe Biden government; by congressmen and senators on Capitol Hill (both Republicans and Democrats); and several local governors and legislatures (the state of Utah is controlled by the Republican Party).
The CEO of TikTok has testified before Congress not only about US national security concerns, but also about user privacy and the mental health of young people.
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what was forbidden
The Cox administration says, “Utah is at the forefront of holding social media companies accountable for the harm they are causing our children and youth.” Some of the restrictions include:
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- The law prohibits minors from having accounts in the applications without their parents’ consent and stipulates that those responsible can have full access to their children’s accounts;
- It requires applications to create a “default curfew” that prohibits minors from entering between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. (and which can only be changed by parents and guardians);
- Businesses must also block the accounts of minors for searching and cannot collect data from minors or target their accounts for advertising.
The restrictions were passed by the state legislature this month despite opposition from tech companies and were put into effect by the governor yesterday.