New York state lawmakers have taken a significant step to protect the mental health of children by passing legislation that curbs “addictive” social media algorithms for users under 18. The new law, passed on Friday, mandates that social media platforms must display content to younger users in chronological order, rather than using recommendation algorithms. Additionally, these platforms are prohibited from sending alerts between midnight and 6 AM unless parents give consent and reenable the notifications (New York State Senate).
The bill, sponsored by New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes, aims to address concerns that algorithmic feeds are crafted to be addictive and harm children’s mental health. Gounardes emphasized that data has shown that social media features are designed to reengage users by triggering them with new content, which often exposes children to unselected materials (YouTube). Governor Kathy Hochul, expected to sign the bill into law, celebrated its passage, underscoring the state’s commitment to child welfare (Twitter).
This legislative move will empower New York Attorney General Letitia James to establish guidelines for verifying user age and determining parental consent. The legislation will fully go into effect 180 days after these guidelines are put in place.
Other jurisdictions are following similar paths. For example, the California state Senate passed comparable legislation in May (California State Senate). On a broader scale, the national Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) seeks to hold social media companies accountable for recommending harmful content to children.
However, the bill has its critics. Some argue that the legislation may infringe on First Amendment rights. Evan Greer of Fight for the Future pointed out that while courts have supported regulation of harmful business practices like autoplay, this level of government control over online content for young people might be a step too far, potentially amounting to unconstitutional censorship (ACLU).
In response to similar pressures, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, introduced new parental controls last year. These tools allow parents to set time limits and monitor their children’s activities on Instagram (Meta News).