State lawmakers are expected to discuss and propose changes to a bill Tuesday that would ban social media for some North Carolina teenagers.
House Bill 301 would prohibit social media platforms from allowing anyone 13 years or younger from having a social media account. It would also require social media companies to delete any accounts already held by those children. Children who are 14 and 15 years old would need parent or guardian consent to open an account. Any current account holders who are that age would need to obtain permission from a parent or guardian or their account would be terminated by the social media company.
House Bill 301 has already passed the House. But it would need to re-approve it after a Senate education committee added language to the bill in April. Under the new language, the state Board of Education would be required to update its computer science standards to include instruction on the use of artificial intelligence. It would also require the state Department of Public Instruction to partner with N.C. State University’s William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation to develop AI training requirements for educators.
The companies that own social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram already commonly require accountholders to be 13 years old — one year younger than the bill would allow. Lawmakers are concerned because of the ease some children younger than 13 have had in creating accounts, as well as perceived harms of social media use on young people.
The bill would fine social media companies up to $50,000 for each time a younger teen sets up an account against the law’s provisions. Families of those children, under the bill, could sue companies for the violation, up to $10,000.
The use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 in the U.S. report using a social media platform, with more than one-third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center.
North Carolina and 32 other states in 2024 sued Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, alleging that the social media company has contributed to a youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on its Instagram and Facebook platforms to addict children to its platforms.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein was the state’s attorney general when the lawsuit was filed. As governor, he would have to sign off on any North Carolina bill restricting social media use. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Stein said Meta lied to parents about the risk its social media platforms posed against children.
Meta said at the time that it was committed to providing teens with safe experiences online, and that it had introduced more than two dozen tools to support teens and their families.
