New York lawmakers are on the brink of approving a law aimed at increasing parental oversight over social media usage by teenagers. The forthcoming legislation, known as the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, mandates parental consent for teens to access algorithmic feeds on social media platforms.
This initiative aligns with efforts by other states like Utah and California, which have also sought to implement age verification and parental consent measures for social media use among minors.
Introduced last year by state officials including Governor Kathy Hochul, the SAFE for Kids Act is tailored to curb the autonomous use of algorithmic feeds by teenagers unless they have parental or guardian approval. This regulation extends to limiting in-app notifications during late hours, necessitating parental permission to enable such interactions, as detailed in a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The bill, set for a vote later this week following a “tentative agreement” among state lawmakers, does not limit the types of content teens can view. Instead, it focuses on the method of content delivery, aiming to protect young users from potential harms associated with unsupervised social media consumption.
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