A bipartisan group of US senators, including Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, have proposed a bill to ban all American children under the age of 13 from using social media.
The four senators who proposed the bill, including Senators Kathy Brett and Bren Schatz, say they believe they “represent the millions of American parents who are deeply concerned that social media is so limitless in what it can do for them.” children.”
Their bill, entitled the “Children’s Social Media Protection Act,” provides for a minimum age of 13 for users of social media sites, parental consent, and age verification for users under the age of 13. 18 years.
Cotton, one of the most vocal conservatives in the GOP, acknowledged that there is a broad bipartisan consensus on social media control, as evidenced by his meeting with three other senators.
“This is a cause that brings parents across the country together, regardless of their political views on other issues,” he said.
Other bills targeting social media have recently been pushed by bipartisan groups of senators.
The bill, proposed Wednesday by Senator Ed Markey and Senator Bill Cassidy, aims to “expand the protection of children’s online privacy, prevent companies from collecting personal information from younger teens, and ban advertising directed at children and teens,” according to Fox News.
And Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, two lawmakers with different political views, proposed a social media bill called “Safer and More Transparent Platforms Through Design” last year and resubmitted it to the Senate this week.
According to Fox News, their bill would “force companies to provide minors with the ability to disable addictive product features and algorithms and enable default child safety settings.”
