COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Gov. Henry McMaster has approved a sweeping new law aimed at limiting addictive features on social media platforms used by children, adding stricter privacy requirements and banning targeted advertising to minors.
The measure targets large social media companies generating more than $1 billion in advertising revenue, including platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
It is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Under the law, companies must identify and flag accounts belonging to users younger than 16 once they have sufficient confidence about a user’s age. Once identified, platforms are required to activate enhanced safety features, including parental control dashboards, and must stop direct marketing to those users.
Republican Rep. Brandon Guffey, of York, led the effort and said the changes are designed to curb practices he argues intentionally capture children’s attention.
“Once they confirm that they have confidence this is a child, then they must enact safety features … and stop marketing directly to our children.”
The law also prohibits features commonly associated with prolonged screen time, including infinite scrolling and automatic video playback. Instead, younger users will be required to manually select content, such as swiping sideways between posts and pressing play on videos.
Guffey said research shows that continuous scrolling contributes to dopamine-driven engagement that can become habit-forming for young users.
“People get on their phones and it’s continuously feeding video that’s going to release dopamine,” he said. “This has been proven over and over.”
Parents and educators have raised concerns about the effects of excessive social media use on children’s development. Kimberly Long, a teacher and mother in Fort Mill, said she sees those impacts firsthand in the classroom.
“It’s really limited what we call executive functioning skills,” Long said. “Those are the soft skills in the business world that kids need, like taking turns, understanding reciprocal conversations, sharing and emotional regulation.”
The Palmetto Family Council, which supported the legislation, said the law also bans targeted advertisements for minors, a practice critics argue exploits children’s online behavior for profit.
“Children can get trapped in these loops, these cycles,” said Josiah DuCharme, the group’s publishing and advocacy director. “Companies know that your attention is extremely valuable — that’s where the profit is.”
South Carolina joins a small number of states enacting similar regulations aimed at protecting children online.
Supporters say they intend to build on the effort in future legislative sessions, including examining how minors interact with artificial intelligence tools.
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