Social media platforms are facing criticism for pushing algorithmic content on minors, but a new California bill aims to hold companies accountable.
The SB 976 bill, also called the ‘Protecting Kids from Social Media Addiction Act,’ will require social media companies to turn off algorithms for kids under the age of 18 and instead show them content from pages they already follow.
The default feed should show posts by pages the users follow in chronological order, but the bill says it can be switched back to show the algorithmic content if the parent or user chooses.
California Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) authored the bill and said social media companies need to stop prioritizing content intended to addict young users to the platforms.
New California bill will require social media to show minors chronological content instead of algorithm-based feeds
“Profit is being made off of our kids and at the expense of their well-being,” Skinner said, adding that the new law “is designed to prevent these very preventable harms.”
The proposed bill would put safeguards in place that would give parents the right to remove algorithmic feeds from their children’s social media channels and prevent kids from accessing the app during school hours or at night.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who introduced the bill to tighten privacy protections for minors, said children will hugely benefit from changing the settings to only show who they follow rather than algorithm-based content.
“We know there are some kids that will change the default setting,” Wicks told the Los Angeles Times, “but the default setting is a very powerful tool.”
Last year, the U.S. surgeon general published a concerning report about the harmful effects social media can have on a child’s mental health.
Although social media platforms require users to be at least 13 years old to create a channel, nearly 40 percent of children ages eight through 12 use social media, according to the report.
Minors who use social media for three or more hours a day have double the chances of experiencing mental health issues
It added that minors between 12 and 15 years old who used social media for more than three hours per day ‘faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.’
The lawmakers pushing for the ‘Protecting Kids from Social Media Addiction Act’ cited the surgeon general’s report when expressing why it is so important to pass the bill.
They added that nearly half of the adolescents surveyed in the report said that social media made them feel worse about their body image, while some said they regularly saw ‘hate-based’ content.
“Social media companies, unfortunately, show us time and time again that they’re all too willing to ignore the detriment to our children, the pain to our children; mental health and physical health challenges that they face in order to pursue profits,” Attorney General Rob Bonta told ABC7 News.
Bonta introduced the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction and California Children’s Data Privacy Acts that would limit the danger linked to social media addiction.
“Social media companies have designed their platforms to addict users, especially our kids. Countless studies show that once a young person has a social media addiction, they experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem,” said Skinner, “We’ve waited long enough for social media companies to act.’
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
