Social Media
Mississippi lawmakers push bills to ban cellphone use in schools
Concerns about youth mental health have fueled policies to ban or restrict students from using cellphones in schools.
Predatory AI, social media addiction targeted by new legislation from Michigan Senate Democrats
A bill package includes protections for data privacy, rampant online targeting and potential exploitation of minors.
Reddit briefly blocked on university network
Catholic University in Washington, D.C. said an automated system flagged the platform during a routine scan, and it was quickly reversed after pushback. Some worry it sets a dangerous precedent for the future.
California investigates Elon Musk’s AI company after ‘avalanche’ of complaints about sexual content
Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office is looking into whether a new AI image editing tool from Elon Musk's company violates California law.
Virginia social media law takes effect amid legal challenge
Minors in the commonwealth can now only use the platforms for one hour a day, with any more time requiring parental approval via age verification. An industry group is suing to block it.
Tech industry group seeks to block reworked Arkansas social media law
The earlier law and the reworked version would have required age verification to create new social media accounts. A federal judge declared the 2023 law unconstitutional and permanently blocked it in April.
NJ bill targets social media companies promoting diet products to children
A bill sponsor said social media companies must have safeguards in place to protect young users from content that promotes eating disorders.
Louisiana’s age-check law for social media is unconstitutional, federal judge rules
The Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act calls for all social media sites with more than 5 million users to make “reasonable efforts” to obtain proof of age to establish an account.
Bluesky social media app restores access for adult Mississippians
The social media platform said it would allow legal adults in Mississippi to access its app, while keeping the service unavailable for minors.
State social media laws run into familiar challenges
As states barrel ahead with their own regulations in the absence of Congressional action, barriers like age verification, the First Amendment and worries about data privacy remain.
Featured eBooks
How parents and teens feel about state efforts to regulate social media
Policies that consider parents’ and children’s views toward social media restrictions could have a better chance at being adopted by the public, one expert says.
How states can enforce social media age limits without sacrificing privacy
COMMENTARY | For state lawmakers across the nation, the debate isn’t whether to act on children’s online safety, but how to best enforce protections.
Pennsylvania bill seeks to close ‘loophole’ for AI-generated child sexual abuse materials
“Children are now targeted in ways we never thought possible.”
Texas sues Roblox, alleging the online gaming platform endangers children
Texas is the third state to sue the platform, alongside dozens of private plaintiffs who say Roblox didn’t do enough to protect their kids from sexually explicit content.
Iowa AG joins brief supporting Tennessee law requiring social media age verification
The filing was made in support of a Tennessee state law requiring social media platforms verify a user's age before approving their account.
Governments are relying more on social media influencers
More are using influencers as trusted community messengers for public information and education campaigns, a trend that started during the pandemic and is not going away.
Kansas sues social media app Snapchat for harming teenagers’ mental health and well-being
The lawsuit references the death of a teenage boy from Shawnee, who died in 2021of fentanyl poisoning after reportedly purchasing from a drug dealer on Snapchat.
Alabama schools superintendent sends letter about ‘inappropriate’ social media posts
Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey sent a letter to school superintendents stating inappropriate social posts will result in disciplinary action.
Here’s how NY plans to regulate kids’ use of social media
The state attorney general’s office released draft rules around age verification and prohibitions on showing algorithmic feeds to minors without parental permission.
Bluesky blocks access in Mississippi, citing free speech and privacy concerns over age verification law
Bluesky said on Friday that it made the decision after the U.S. Supreme Court declined for now to block a Mississippi state law that requires users of websites and other digital services to verify their age.
