Senate Committee Passes Bill Requiring Age Verification, Parental Consent for Social Media Access

Legislation, ,

On Tuesday the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee passed a bill that would help protect minors in Arkansas from accessing social media sites without parental consent.

S.B. 396, the Social Media Safety Act, by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jon Eubanks (R – Paris) says that social media companies must verify users’ ages and cannot grant minors access to the social media platform without parental consent.

The bill contains protections for user privacy. A social media company that violated the law could be held liable.

More and more, social media platforms simply are not a place for children — at least, not without parental supervision.

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has published an analysis determining that social media is a major cause of mental illness in girls.

As he wrote, “The hours girls spent each day on Instagram were taken from sleep, exercise, and time with friends and family. What did we think would happen to them?”

On the TikTok platform — which is very popular with youth — The New York Times reports that teen users developed tics similar to Tourette’s syndrome during COVID lockdowns.

Researchers are still analyzing the reasons why, but the consensus seems to be that this was a social contagion that spread online at a time when some teens were using social media more than ever.

In December, news outlets reported how TikTok’s algorithm was suggesting videos that promoted self-harm and eating disorders to teenagers.

A recent CDC report found 16% of high school students were electronically bullied in 2021 through texting, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media platforms.

The list goes on.

Legislation like S.B. 396 would help parents and social media companies protect children from harmful content online.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.

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Gov. Sanders Issues Executive Orders Addressing CRT, TikTok

Legislature, ,

This week Gov. Sarah Sanders issued executive orders addressing critical race theory (CRT) in public schools and use of the Chinese-owned social media application TikTok on state networks.

In her executive order on CRT, the governor notes,

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. It emphasizes skin color as a person’s primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject; . . . The Constitution of the State of Arkansas and the Constitution of the United States of America recognize the equal value of every individual, and provide equal protection under the law, regardless of color, creed, race, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, familial status, disability, religion, and national origin.

The order goes on to direct the state Secretary of Education to review the Department of Education’s rules and policies and remove anything that promotes critical race theory.

In recent years, parents have expressed concern about critical theory in Arkansas’ public schools and universities.

As we have written before, Arkansans should oppose racism, but critical theory isn’t the way to do it.

Critical theory wrongly teaches that those who have power always use it to oppress those who don’t have power.

According to critical race theory, institutions — such as the church, family, government, or law — are always tools of oppression.

When educators promote critical theory to students, the consequences for children are serious.

Gov. Sanders also issued an executive order prohibiting the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok on state computer systems, saying,

Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this Order, the Director of the [Office of State Procurement], in consultation with the Director of the [Division of Information Systems], shall implement efficient and effective plans to uninstall, disconnect, and prevent the use of TikTok with respect to all state networks and state-issued devices . . . and to prevent all future installations, connections, or uses of TikTok on such networks and devices.

TikTok is the most popular social media platform in the world, with a billion users worldwide and 135 million in the U.S.

However, security experts are bothered by the application’s possible ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

If the Chinese Communist Party can exert influence over TikTok, the CCP may be able to harvest data and manipulate people on the world’s largest social media platform.

Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) have already filed S.B. 4 to restrict access to TikTok on computers, tablets, phones, and other devices owned by the State of Arkansas. The governor’s executive order addresses this issue as well.

It does not ban TikTok for every Arkansan, but it does eliminate TikTok on devices that belong to the State of Arkansas.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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