ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia may soon join other states in requiring parental permission for children to create social media accounts.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas, both prominent Republicans in the state Senate, announced in a news conference on Monday that they plan to introduce a law in 2024 that would mandate parental consent for social media accounts and potentially extend to other online services.
“It’s important that we empower parents,” Anavitarte stated. “Many parents don’t know how to restrict content.”
The proposed rules in Georgia would be similar to those enacted in Louisiana this year. Under the Louisiana law, which goes into effect in 2024, social media platforms must verify the age of account holders and are prohibited from allowing individuals under the age of 18 to join without parental consent.
Other states such as Arkansas, Texas, and Utah have also passed laws in 2023 that require parental consent for minors to use social media. There have also been proposals in Congress for federal legislation on parental consent.
Last year, California implemented a law that requires online services to enhance child privacy and safety measures.
Anavitarte disclosed that he has briefly communicated with Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and will be discussing their plans with the social media giant.
The move to require parental consent comes after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in May about the potential dangers of social media for young individuals. Murthy urged tech companies, parents, and caregivers to take immediate action to protect children and called for increased transparency from tech companies and regulatory measures similar to those in place for car seats and baby formula.
While social media companies already have regulations prohibiting individuals under the age of 13 from creating accounts, it has been shown that children can easily bypass these restrictions.
A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that up to 95% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 use social media platforms, with over a third stating that they use them “almost constantly.”
Anavitarte also expressed interest in strengthening Georgia’s cyberbullying law. The current law stipulates that any student found guilty of bullying three times must attend an alternative school. Anavitarte aims to reintroduce a proposal from 2022 that would require schools to inform students and parents that certain acts of bullying could lead to criminal stalking charges.
Last year, Meta announced measures to verify users’ age, including options for uploading identification or recording a video selfie, as well as partnerships with age verification companies. Meta claims to provide age-appropriate experiences for teenagers aged 13 to 17 on Instagram, including protection against contact from unknown adults.
Additionally, Anavitarte sponsored a law this year that bans the use of TikTok, Telegram, WeChat, and other applications on state-owned computers in Georgia.
However, some free speech advocates worry that these measures could result in limited access to information and make it more difficult for adults to obtain it.
Furthermore, the new laws could prompt platforms to require users to provide government identification for age verification. This has already been implemented on certain adult websites due to legislation in Louisiana, Utah, and Virginia. The Free Speech Coalition has filed a lawsuit against Utah and Louisiana on behalf of adult entertainers, erotica authors, sex educators, and casual porn viewers, arguing that these laws are unconstitutional as they discriminate against specific types of speech. A Utah judge dismissed the lawsuit last week, citing the design of the law as the reason for the dismissal.