N.C. House Committee Advances Social Media Protections for Kids Bill
A proposed committee substitute for a North Carolina bill aimed at creating social media protections for minors passed the House Commerce and Economic Committee Tuesday by voice vote and will now be referred to the Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House.
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"You're hard-pressed to find anybody that say[s] there's any good thing about kids being on social media," said Rep. Jeff Zenger (R), one of the bill's sponsors. "I would ask that you help get this moved along so that we can protect our kids."
Two committee members asked how the bill would be enforced. Zenger said social media platforms would handle enforcement.
"We say that kids can't have alcohol till they're 21; does that mean that nobody under 21 drinks?" he said. "No, they find a way. It's the same with smoking. It's the same with all kinds of things. And so saying that there's a way to get around it, or that people might get around it, is not a reason to do nothing."
Rep. John Blust (R) agreed. "I imagine every session will be back, tweaking something or adding something," he said. But Blust said he supports the bill because "social media is just brutal."
"The old saying is: 'Locks keep honest people honest,'" Zenger said. "This bill will prevent a tremendous amount of damage being done to our kids. It's a great backstop for parents ... Although I appreciate the concern [about] enforcement, I'm not all that concerned about it."
HB-301 would require social media companies to verify users' ages and ban kids younger than 14 from creating accounts, as well as delete any accounts and associated personal information for those under 14. The bill would allow kids who are 14 and 15 to have accounts if their parents provide consent, and would additionally require websites and apps that have material considered harmful to minors to use age verification, restricting access to kids younger than 16 (see 2503060022).