Texas House Considers Social Media Ban for Minors
Parents “don’t stand a chance” of protecting children against data-driven algorithms on social media, Texas House Rep. Jared Patterson (R) said Wednesday.
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Patterson testified before the House Trade Committee in favor of his HB-186, a bill that would ban children under 18 from using social media platforms. A law in Florida banning children under 14 and an Australian law banning children under 16 were referenced during the discussion. Patterson said HB-186 is the “most important” bill he will introduce this session. The Texas attorney general would enforce HB-186 using consumer protection authorities against deceptive trade practices.
Age-verification laws have drawn objections from privacy advocates. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas testified against the bill, saying it violates the First Amendment rights of children and adults, who may not want to share their personal data with social media platforms. The bill states that platforms “must use a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual as required.”