A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill prohibiting minors from using social media accounts as school districts become a 'hunting ground' for online dangers.
As school districts struggle to control the spread of cyberbullying, pornographic images, and online exploitation among their students, Texas lawmakers could consider banning social media from minors, among other sweeping measures, in the upcoming legislative session.
Lawmakers have suggested several initiatives next session to address the online dangers affecting Texas children, including a bill filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, that would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites and require age verification for new users.
Most of these incidents had a starting point at school, where children have frequent access to technology, and teachers and administrators are too busy to provide oversight. Add in the fact that they know ways to circumvent campus firewalls, students are being groomed via social media on school grounds, said Jacquelyn Alutto, president of Houston-based No Trafficking Zone, during the hearing.
However, many of the family-friendly websites and games that children might use for entertainment are also rife with potential sexual predators who pretend to be children. This has created a generation of chronically online children, and the medical community is still unsure of their long-term effects.
This lawsuit, like dozens of others across the country, is playing out in court, forcing Texas lawmakers to wait and see what more they can do in the upcoming session to hold social media companies accountable."The state needs to ensure that if technology providers want to do business, they must protect our children, stop the flow of and report it," Brent Dupre, director of law enforcement at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, told The Texas Tribune.
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