(TNND) — Most American adults support a social media ban for kids under 16, a Pew Research Center survey shows.
Meanwhile, such a bill is steadily making its way through the California Legislature, perhaps establishing a blueprint for other states to follow or the motivation for social media companies to change their ways.
“Let’s not forget that the largest tech companies on the planet are located in California. This isn’t just about being the most populous state,” said Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat and the lead author of the California bill. “These are the engines that drive our economy. And if we have the courage to stand up to them and say we want you to be more successful, but we want you to be a lot safer for our children, we firmly believe that the rest of the states will – and the federal government will – be energized to follow suit.”
The Pew Research Center found 56% of adults nationwide support a social media ban for kids under 16. Another 21% are opposed, and 23% are unsure.
But support for a ban is shared across demographics, including most age groups and both political parties. The survey found 59% of Republicans and 54% of Democrats support a ban.
Majorities also support parental consent, age verification and time limits.
The California bill isn’t a blanket ban. It’s designed to target so-called addictive features that are part and parcel of social media apps, such as notifications, endless scroll and autoplay.
The bill would require social media platforms with such features to verify the age of their users and delete accounts for those under 16. Failure to do so could result in financial civil penalties.
The bill would also create an e-safety commission to oversee the implementation of the law and advise California about online safety moving forward.
“We don’t want to preclude children from digital life,” Lowenthal said Monday. “We just need them to be in a nurturing environment. And today’s social media is not a nurturing environment. … Instagram, TikTok, they already have teen versions, but they still have the harmful features that are embedded in the teen versions today. And so, we absolutely believe that the platforms have the capacity of creating a much safer environment without any of these harmful, addictive features. And they should have every incentive to do so to keep children in their ecosystem, where regulators and parents alike can feel comfortable that their children are no longer in predatory environments.”
The California bill passed the Assembly unanimously in May and is on track for a floor vote in the state Senate next month.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has already voiced support for social media age restrictions, and Lowenthal said he’s confident the bill will become law in the Golden State.
Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and at the University of Southern California, said passage of a youth social media ban, of sorts, in his state could serve as an important milestone toward a national ban.
“California tends to be a policy trendsetter on many other matters, with at least with blue states,” Schnur said. “But the fact that there’s not a partisan divide on this issue increases the likelihood that members of both parties support a ban when the vote comes.”
Schnur pointed out that the Pew Research Center found the strongest support for a youth social media ban among the folks who are currently raising children. Nearly two-thirds of parents with a child under 18 support a ban.
“The poll doesn’t just show strong support for a ban, but the most invested voters in the issue support it the most strongly,” he said. “That suggests a very motivated base of support.”
Peter Loge, the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, said he’s skeptical that Congress will get on board with a national ban on kids using social media.
A ban, Loge said, “has an immediate gut appeal” to folks answering a survey.
“But then when you start raising the other side of it, or it actually has to get debated in a legislative body, things get more complicated,” Loge said. “When things get more complicated, they slow down and tend to stop.”
But Loge said the weight of new restrictions in California might force social media companies to simply adjust their behavior to preserve access to an important market. And that might make the California law the de facto standard for the rest of the country.
California isn’t the only state to pass laws intended to protect kids online.
Florida passed a youth social media ban a couple of years ago.
Other states, like Texas, have tackled age verification through app stores. And New York lawmakers targeted risky features in artificial intelligence chatbots.
Australia, meanwhile, implemented the first-ever nationwide social media ban for kids under 16.
The United Kingdom, France and Spain are among the countries pursuing their own national restrictions on youth social media use.
Lowenthal said the world has “reached a tipping point” over youth online safety, but he said Congress has been “completely derelict in its duty of protecting children.”
That’s why California and other states are stepping up, he said.
And that’s why California advocates have created a petition “so that lawmakers can understand the wave of support throughout the state and throughout the country,” Lowenthal said.
“This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s not a rural vs. urban issue. It transcends race, religion, socioeconomic level. Everybody is arriving at the same conclusion. This is bad for children. This is addiction,” he said. “We need to call it for what it is. This is addiction, and it’s a public health crisis. So, it’s not surprising that there’s so much public support for this, and the Legislature and the governor are listening closely.”
