Sen. Josh Hawley introduces bill banning kids younger than 16 from using social media
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced a bill that seeks to protect children online by requiring social media companies to prohibit anyone age 16 and younger from using their platforms.
Introduced by Hawley on Tuesday, the bill, Known as the Making Age-Verification Technology Uniform, Robust, and Effective (MATURE) Act, states: “ ... beginning on the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the operator of a social media platform shall not allow an individual to create an account on the platform unless the individual is age 16 or older, as verified by the platform using an age verification process.”
Social media platforms would be required users to provide their full legal name, date of birth and government-issued identification before being able to create an account and use the app. However, the bill exempts any social media accounts created before the bill gets enacted.
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The bill adds that social media platforms would also be banned from selling, transferring or using "any information collected from an individual for the purpose of verifying the individual’s identity and age for any other purpose."
Hawley also introduced a second bill, the Federal Social Media Research Act, that would commission a study that tracks the harmful effects of social media on children for a span of 10 years.
“Children suffer every day from the effects of social media. At best, Big Tech companies are neglecting our children’s health and monetizing their personal information. At worst, they are complicit in their exploitation and manipulation. It’s time to give parents the weapons they need to strike back,” said Hawley in a statement shared with The Christian Post.
“That starts with an age restriction for social media. And it’s long past time for well-funded research on the scale of the problem. We must set the precedent that these companies can no longer take advantage of our children.”
When it was first launched in 2004, Facebook initially required users to be college students. Later, it expanded membership to include high school students and presently allows youth as young as 13 to have accounts. Twitter and TikTok both allow accounts to be opened by 13-year-olds.
Recently, efforts have been launched to hold social media websites and apps accountable for the potential harm they inflict on minors, be it through cyberbullying or sexual predation.
On Monday, Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Maxie Hirono of Hawaii introduced the Clean Slate for Kids Online Act.
If enacted, their bill would give Americans the right to demand that internet companies delete all personal information collected from them when they were aged 13 and younger.
“Internet companies too often seek to profit from collecting reams of personal data on Americans, including children,” stated Durbin. “It’s time to put in place some tougher rules of the road — especially when it comes to our kids, who do not fully understand the consequences of their online use.”
