On paper, Utah's sweeping social media legislation is an ambitious attempt to shield children and teens from the ill effects of social media. It empowers parents to decide whether their kids should be using apps like TikTok or Instagram.
passed March 23 is an ambitious attempt to shield children and teens from the ill effects of social media and empower parents to decide whether their kids should be using apps like TikTok or Instagram.
"Children may be put at increased risk if these laws are enforced in such a way that they're not allowed to some privacy, if they are not allowed some ability for freedom of speech or autonomy," said Kris Perry, executive director of the nonprofit Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.
Take age verification, for instance. Various measures exist that can verify a person's age online. Someone could upload a government ID or consent to the use of facial recognition software to prove they are the age they say they are. "In Southeast Asia they've been trying this for years, for decades, and kids always get around it," said Gaia Bernstein, author of "Unwired," a book on how to fight technology addiction.
There is no precedent in the United States for such drastic regulation of social media, although several states have similar rules in the works.
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