Goodbye TikTok and Instagram for kids? Texas bill aims to ban social media for minors
Should children be allowed to have social media accounts? At what age should the line be drawn? The state of Texas debates that very topic.
Social media can be a dangerous place if it’s not used responsibly. So giving children access to it can be scary. For that reason, many think it simply shouldn’t be allowed for minors to have access to social media accounts.
Texas exploring ban on social media for minors
Texas lawmakers are cracking down on online safety. On Tuesday, the House proposed a ban on social media for minors, passing the proposal onto the Senate. The bill would require a warning label for minors on social media.
Several different suggestions have been put out there to protect children in Texas from the dangers of social media, but the House Bill 186 by Rep. Jared Patterson prohibits minors from even creating accounts on social media sites. It would require age verification for new users and grant parents the right to request a deletion of their child’s account. The company would have to comply with said request within 10 days.
“This legislation will allow today’s kids to be kids again,” Patterson said on Tuesday.
The bill passed the House on Tuesday with 116 votes and at the same time, House Bill 499 by Rep. Mary Gonzalez also passed, requiring there to be a warning label on social media about the link between usage and mental health issues.
“We do know warning labels have an effect,” Gonzalez said. “We are using the same concept for social media.”
If the bills are signed into law, they may face legal challenges from tech companies over free speech concerns. Texas continues its push to combat the negative impact of social media on young people’s mental health and education.
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