[title]
The year's legislative session may soon be over, but Governor Kathy Hochul hopes to still secure a package of bills meant to curb social media use among teens.
"Every generation faces defining challenges, and young Americans today are facing an epidemic of despair," the politician wrote in a New York Post op-ed last week. "We see it in the crippling sadness and anxiety of our children, families and loved ones; we feel the weight of their pain. And with each passing day, we learn more about how this pain can be driven by the harmful effects of social media. Social media was meant to connect us to friends, in a way that brought us closer to one another. Instead, platforms have become media machines—collecting data on users and curating addictive algorithmic feeds designed to keep people scrolling as long as possible."
Hochul's effort is a two-pronged one: she wants social media users to submit their age and allow their parents to control their feeds when younger than 18. Simultaneously, she is looking to protect kids' personal data.
More specifically, the Governor hopes to prohibit platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok from showing "addictive feeds" to underage users, effectively attacking the algorithm technology that has arguably come to define the various apps. Parents would have the option to allow their kids to watch said content when consenting on the platforms.
"The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act will require social-media companies to restrict the addictive features on their platforms that most harm young users," Hochul explained in her op-ed.
A second bill, this one dubbed the New York Child Protection Act, would ban companies from collecting and/or selling data about minors, another aspect of social media platforms' business model that has contributed to their vast popularity.
"Hearing countless stories from young people, mental-health professionals and educators across the state have reinforced my commitment to getting this done," Hochul wrote.
The two pieces of legislation were first presented to the public last fall, but they have yet to be turned into laws. Hochul has a few days to get the task done: the legislative session will wrap up on June 6.