Utah governor signs laws curbing social media use for minors

Reuters

(Reuters) – Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Thursday signed two laws intended to restrict social media use by minors, becoming the first U.S. state to require parental permission for anyone under 18 to use such platforms as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

The two bills, passed earlier this month by Utah’s Republican-controlled legislature, are also meant to make it easier to sue social media companies for damages.

The impact of social media on children has been the subject of a growing national debate in the United States, where service providers are largely protected from liability over their content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Related News:   Pennsylvania can discard undated mail-in ballots, US appeals court rules

“We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth,” Cox, a Republican, said in a message on Twitter.


The bills, which the tech industry opposes, requires all users to submit age verification before opening a social media account. Minors under the age of 18 seeking an exception would need permission from a parent.


(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Richard Chang)

tagreuters.com2023binary_LYNXMPEJ2M0Z7-BASEIMAGE

You appear to be using an ad blocker

Shore News Network is a free website that does not use paywalls or charge for access to original, breaking news content. In order to provide this free service, we rely on advertisements. Please support our journalism by disabling your ad blocker for this website.