Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) introduced the Kids Off Social Media Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to protect kids online by prohibiting children under the age of 13 from being on social media and banning social media companies from recommending content using algorithms for users under the age of 17. Congresswoman Schrier is joined in introducing this legislation by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13). A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate and is led by Senators Brian Schatz (HI) and Ted Cruz (TX).
“As a pediatrician and a mom, I’m very worried about the impacts that screen time and social media are having on this generation. We’re seeing sleep deprivation, inattentiveness, impaired social skills, and increased rates of depression and anxiety that experts in the field link to social media use,” said Congresswoman Schrier, M.D. “Social media companies are not properly regulating their platforms and are pushing harmful content on our kids that they know is detrimental. They’re purposely designing their platforms to make them more addictive and keep kids scrolling so they can rake in more profits. Our kids are not for sale. That’s why I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation to set commonsense safety measures on social media use and protect our children.”
“The Kids Online Safety and Media Act puts real guardrails in place by keeping children under 13 off social media, reining in algorithm-driven targeting for minors, and ensuring schools are not using taxpayer-supported E-Rate networks to funnel students onto social platforms during the school day,” said Congresswoman Luna. “I support this legislation because it gives parents the backing they need to raise well-adjusted, socialized kids.”
The United States is facing a mental health crisis across all age groups, but adolescents — especially young girls — have been particularly impacted. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 57 percent of high school girls and 29 percent of high school boys felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. In the same survey, 22 percent of all high school students — and nearly a third of high school girls — reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the preceding year.
Social media use has been proven to be a significant contributing factor to this crisis. Internal Meta documents reported that 32 percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse, and found that teens themselves blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression. The algorithms utilized by social media companies have been optimized to increase and prolong time spent on apps, which is particularly harmful for young, impressionable children. Independent studies have also shown that the more children and teens use social media, the higher the risk of depression, and that when children and teens reduce or eliminate exposure to social media for longer than a month, their mental health benefits.
To address the harm that social media is having on children, the bill would:
- Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, consistent with the current practices of major social media companies.
- Prohibit social media companies from recommending content using algorithms to users under the age of 17.
- Provide the FTC and state attorneys general with the authority to enforce the provisions of the above provisions.
- Ensure that schools are limiting access to social media on school networks.