A new bill proposed in Kentucky would regulate social media use among minors by requiring parental authentication. House Bill 450 was filed by Republican Representatives Nick Wilson of Williamsburg and Joshua Calloway of Irvington. The purpose of the bill is to put safeguards in place to protect children from the dangers of online predators, bullying, or harassment, as well as the addictive nature of social media.
On Jan. 31, there was a hearing in which social media executives were questioned by U.S. Senators on the lack of protections for children on social media apps. The CEOs of TikTok, X, Meta, and other corporations went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to give testimony in response to increasing parental concerns regarding the dangers of social media. The following day, on Feb. 1, House Bill 450 was filed in Kentucky.
Calloway told Kentucky Public Radio, “They’re using algorithms that target children. And all the bill is saying is, whatever interaction that you’re going to have with my child through these means, I just want to be in the middle of it and know what’s going on.” Should the bill pass, it would mean that social media companies would have the responsibility of verifying the ages of new and existing social media users in the state.
Social media users would have to prove that they are 18 years or older through required authentication that could include financial documents and government-issued IDs. A minor under the age of 18 could only create an account if authorized in a notarized form by a parent or legal guardian, under the penalty of perjury. Parents would also be able to revoke consent for their child’s account at any time should they choose to do so. In this event, the company would be prohibited from retaining any information from the account. The bill would also aim to confront the addictive nature of social media. Companies would be required to put a feature in place that would allow parents to view the content that their child consumes or creates.
“It just gives parents the opportunity to know that they’re on there and to monitor what they want to monitor for their child and be able to be responsible for them,” says Calloway. Parents would have the ability to view all posts and messages on their child’s account, control account settings, and monitor the amount of time their child is spending on the app.
Similar legislation has been passed in other states, which has gained bipartisan support, but also bipartisan criticism. There are some concerns regarding the First Amendment and social media users being required by the government to send companies their personal information. Last fall, a similar bill in Arkansas was set to become law until it was blocked by a federal judge due to constitutional concerns.
When asked about pushback, Calloway explains that he believes that his bill does not conflict with Republican ideology and the belief in small government. “We don’t allow a kid to buy alcohol, we don’t allow a child to smoke cigarettes, we don’t allow a child to buy tobacco, things that have addictive properties to it. We’ve been consistent to say that this has to be regulated in some way, shape, or form to make sure that minors aren’t harmed by that.”