Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a pair of legislations on Tuesday that would mandate social media companies to meet several requirements before they are allowed to offer accounts to Americans on their platforms.
The first bill (pdf), titled “Making Age-Verification Technology Uniform, Robust, and Effective Act,” or the “MATURE Act,” would impose a minimum age requirement of 16 for all social media users in the United States.
The measure would mandate social media companies to verify users’ full legal name and date of birth, as well as a scan, image, or upload of a government-issued identification that confirms this information before they are able to create an account.
If enacted, already existing accounts will not be affected, and social media platforms “may continue to allow an individual to maintain and use an account” without verifying that the user is aged 16 or older.
In addition, the bill adds that social media operators would be prohibited from selling, transferring, or using “any information collected from an individual for the purpose of verifying the individual’s identity and age for any other purpose.”
The second legislation (pdf), titled the “Federal Social Media Research Act,” seeks to commission a government report on the “effects of social media on users under age 18.”
The Republican lawmaker noted that the measure would also fund a longitudinal study to track the effects of social media on children to be submitted no later than 10 years after the law is enacted.
“Children suffer every day from the effects of social media. At best, Big Tech companies are neglecting our children’s health and monetizing their personal information. At worst, they are complicit in their exploitation and manipulation,” Hawley said in a news release.
“It’s time to give parents the weapons they need to strike back,” he added. “That starts with an age restriction for social media. And it’s long past time for well-funded research on the scale of the problem. We must set the precedent that these companies can no longer take advantage of our children.”
Most social media companies currently require children to be at least 13 years old, but do not normally require proof of age.
Social Networking Addiction
A recent study (pdf) published in JAMA Pediatrics explored what the long-term effects could be for adolescents who frequently check their social media.
The study found that 78 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds check their devices hourly, while 46 percent report checking “almost constantly,” leaving adolescents “uniquely vulnerable” to addictive scrolling.
“Adolescents’ habitual checking of social media may be exacerbating an already enhanced neural response to the anticipation of salient social feedback,” the study says. “Additionally, the motivational salience of social contexts may undermine adolescents’ ability to engage in cognitive control and, subsequently, to regulate their behaviors.”
Another research report from De Montfort University in Leicester found that children are losing out on the equivalent of a full night’s sleep a week because their bedtime routines are being delayed by increased social media use.
Hawley is not the first official seeking to bar social media companies from allowing children to use their platforms.
In December, Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Texas) filed bill HB 896 (pdf), which would force social media sites to verify a user’s age with photo ID and allow parents to request that their child’s account be deactivated. If enacted, that bill would require all social media users to be 18 years of age to create an account.
Patterson claimed that social media was harmful and addictive to children and compared it to cigarette use before 1964, when scientists started warning about tobacco.
“Once thought to be perfectly safe for users, social media access to minors has led to remarkable rises in self-harm, suicide, and mental health issues,” said Patterson.
Epoch Times reporter Bryan Jung contributed to this report.
