In April, the state of Idaho became the first in the nation to pass legislation aimed at protecting children from online addiction. The Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act (SHASM Act) requires social media platforms to use age estimation technology (which they already use) to identify users who are 15 or younger and remove their accounts unless a parent gives permission. And even if a child’s account is approved, parents can set time limits, restrict access during certain hours, and adjust privacy settings.
The measure also removes addictive design features from children’s social media accounts, such as infinite scrolling, auto-play videos, public “like” counts, push notifications, and algorithmic targeting based on personal data. In addition, the SHASM Act allows parents and state attorneys general to bring civil actions against platforms that break the law.
The advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been a prominent supporter of the bill, praised its passage. In a statement, Chelsey Youman, Senior Counsel for ADF, said the following: “Children are not experiments, and their private information is not a commodity. The Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act directly confronts the root cause of harm to children online by stopping social media companies from addicting them for profit.”
Click here to read an in-depth analysis of the bill from ADF.