OKLAHOMA CITY – A Senate panel on Thursday passed measures designed to protect minors from the harmful effects of social media, despite concerns that enforcement might be difficult.
“I don’t believe there’s any dispute that much harm can be caused to our children by their use of social media,” said Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher.
During an interim study, an expert cited high rates of suicide, depression, anxiety and eating disorders, Jech said.
Cyber bullying, explicit content, peer influence and insufficient regulation increase the risks, he said.
Senate Bill 931 would require social media platforms to perform reasonable age verification methods and provide supervisory tools or parental controls, Jech said, which is already happening in other states.
Senate Bill 932, also by Jech, would allow a child, their parents or legal guardian to sue a social media platform for an adverse mental health outcome. The measure does not define what an adverse mental health outcome is.
It requires that a minor be diagnosed by a licensed mental health care provider with an adverse outcome that was caused by the youth’s excessive use of an algorithmically curated social media platform.
The measure defines a curation algorithm as “a computational process or set of rules used by a social media platform that determines, influences, or personalizes output that is designed to encourage prolonged or frequent engagement.”
The panel also passed Senate Bill 885, dubbed the “Safe Screens for Kids Act,” by Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore.
The bill would require social media companies to receive parental consent before allowing minors to create an account. It would give parents full access to their child’s accounts and only allow communication from accounts the minor follows.
It would limit features like unlimited scrolling and targeted ads.
Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, questioned how a person could ensure that it wasn’t a minor pretending to be a parent giving approval.
“These kids on social media are a whole lot smarter than probably half the adults in this building,” Rosino said.
Seifried said there will be some challenges and difficulties with enforcement, but the bill was a starting point.
Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, questioned how Oklahoma could go after a company based in another state like California.
Seifried said she didn’t want a patchwork system, but that she wanted to send a message that Oklahoma supports protecting kids.
“This bill is not without its issues,” she said. “I recognize that.”
She said she was concerned that the social media companies are tracking the child’s behavior online and using it to try to sell them things.
“These companies are making money off of minors,” she said.
All three bills passed out of the Senate Technology and Telecommunications Committee by a 7-0 vote and are available for consideration by the full Senate.
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