New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill targeting addictive social media platforms: “Our kids are in distress”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a bill into law targeting addictive social media feeds for children and teens, saying ahead of the bill’s signing that “our kids are in distress.”
“They’re not living carefree lives because they are being held captive to powerful forces outside their own control — algorithms that are intentionally addictive, intended to pull them in and keep their attention,” Hochul told CBS News in an exclusive interview ahead of the bill’s signing.
The “Safe for Kids Act,” which Hochul signed Thursday, requires social media companies to restrict “addictive feeds” for social media users under the age of 18. It would also bar notifications from social media platforms related to the feeds between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. without parental consent. And it would require new age verification and parental consent tools to be set by the state’s attorney general.
suggested that Congress should create a warning label, like it would for addictive products like cigarettes, on social media for teens. And the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest public school system in the country, voted to ban students from using cell phones during school hours.
At the bill signing on Thursday, Hochul said “other states should start paying attention to New York,” adding that while she isn’t holding her breath waiting for a federal solution, a national solution is important.
“Congress can and should act,” she said. “But until such time, we’ll lead the nation.”
Jo Ling Kent
Source: cbsnews.com