Utah bans kids from social media without parental permission

News Summary

  • Spencer Cox Thursday prohibit kids under 18 from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., require age verification for anyone who wants to use social media in the state and open the door to lawsuits on behalf of children claiming social media harmed them.
  • California, meanwhile, enacted a law last year requiring tech companies to put kids’ safety first by barring them from profiling children or using personal information in ways that could harm children physically or mentally.The new Utah laws also require that parents be given access to their child’s accounts.
  • SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Children and teens in Utah would lose access to social media apps such as TikTok if they don’t have parental consent and face other restrictions under a first-in-the-nation law designed to shield young people from the addictive platforms.Two laws signed by Republican Gov.
  • To comply, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms — but children have been shown to easily get around the bans, both with and without their parents’ consent.
  • Cox said studies have shown that time spent on social media leads to “poor mental health outcomes” for children.
  • Companies are already prohibited from collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
By SAM METZ and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah became the first state to enact laws limiting how children can use social media after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed [+5237 chars]