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Utah's governor signs bills going after social media platforms targeting youth

Governor Spencer Cox has signed a series of bills imposing new restrictions on youth access to social media. Utah's Governor Spencer Cox has signed a series of bills that require age-verification, block social media platforms from targeting youth in advertising and searches, and allow companies to be sued for any violations. The bills have bipartisan support and have been signed with bipartisan support. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has said it is already taking steps to protect children from content promoting suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. The governor and Utah Attorney General are exploring lawsuits against social media companies for alleged harms to children, including impacts to their mental health.

Utah's governor signs bills going after social media platforms targeting youth

Published : 12 months ago by Ben Winslow, By: Ben Winslow in Politics

SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox has signed a series of bills imposing new restrictions on youth access to social media.

At a ceremony on Thursday, the governor signed the bills that require age-verification, blocks social media platforms from targeting youth in advertising and searches and allows companies to be sued for any violations. Gov. Cox called social media apps "very destructive" in their harms to youth and their mental health.

"These are first of their kind bills in the United States," the governor said. "That's huge that Utah is leading out in this effort."

The bills passed the legislature with bipartisan support.

"This is a historic day," Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan said, adding that the bills are "tools to help parents."

In a statement to FOX 13 News, a spokesperson for Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — insisted it was already taking steps to protect children.

“We want teens to be safe online. We’ve developed more than 30 tools to support teens and families, including tools that let parents and teens work together to limit the amount of time teens spend on Instagram, and age verification technology that helps teens have age-appropriate experiences. We automatically set teens’ accounts to private when they join Instagram, and we send notifications encouraging them to take regular breaks. We don’t allow content that promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, and of the content we remove or take action on, we identify over 99% of it before it’s reported to us. We’ll continue to work closely with experts, policymakers and parents on these important issues," the company said.

The governor and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes have said they are exploring lawsuits against social media companies for alleged harms to children, including impacts to their mental health.

Updates on this breaking news story on fox13now.com and FOX 13 News as information becomes available.


Topics: Utah, Media

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