With the world practically at their fingertips, ensuring the protection and safety of children has become much harder since the creation of social media. Recognizing this, New York’s government is starting to take action. Governor Kathy Hochul, as confirmed by governor.ny.gov, signed nation-leading legislation yesterday, Thursday, June 20: legislations S.7694A/A.8148A and S.7695B/A.8149A. Those present with her include Attorney General Letitia James and bill sponsors Senator Andrew Gounardes and State Assembly Member Nily Rozic
Legislation S.7694A/A.8148A puts in place the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act. According to governor.ny.gov, the act requires social media companies to restrict addictive feeds on their platforms for users under 18. Additionally, the new law doesn’t allow social media platforms to send notifications for addictive feeds to minors between midnight and 6 am without a parent’s consent.
Meanwhile, Legislation S.7695B/A.8149A updates the New York Child Data Protection Act: permitting it to block online sites from the personal data of anyone under 18. This includes collecting, using, sharing, or selling the data of minors without permission or the website’s purpose requires it.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will enforce both legislations and ensure they are followed. According to governor.ny.gov, platforms that violate either law can be fined up to $5,000 per violation.
The protection these legislations enforce, considering research done by the U.S. Surgeon General and Pew Research Center, couldn’t have come at a better time. The U.S. Surgeon General’s research has found that minors who spend three or more hours on social media a day are at more risk for poor mental health. Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center found that 6 out of 10 teens feel they hardly have control over what information gets collected by social media companies.
With Governor Hochul signing the bill, New York has more-or-less claimed leadership in the fight to protect children from the dangers of social media. California, as mentioned by governor.ny.gov, was inspired by New York’s new legislation, already considering similar ideas.
In addition to signing the new legislation, Governor Hochul, according to governor.ny.gov, is addressing the current mental health crisis affecting the youth and working with the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) to protect teenagers from online exploitation. Hochul is truly dedicated to keeping the youth safe. For that, she has my respect.
