Connecticut House Passes AG-Endorsed Kids Social Media Bill
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D) hailed a "strong bipartisan vote" in the state legislature on a social media age-verification bill. The House voted 121-26 Wednesday in favor of HB-6857, sending it to the Senate.
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Tong had supported the measure, declaring at a February hearing that implementing age verification should not burden companies that make “trillions of dollars” a year (see 2502100019). HB-6857 would prohibit social media companies from using algorithms to feed addictive content to those younger than 18 without parental consent. Also, it would limit kids’ time on social media to one hour daily.
“The amount of time our teenagers spend each day scrolling social media is deeply destructive to their learning, relationships and mental health,” said Tong in a news release Wednesday. “We know these platforms are addictive by design -- with algorithms and constant alerts honed to maximize profit by overriding self-control. This bill is about giving parents the control necessary to make safe choices for their children.”
“Today’s strong bipartisan vote sends an important message,” added Tong: “Connecticut is done waiting for the federal government and tech giants to do right by our kids.”