As per reports, New York is planning to prohibit social media companies from using algorithms to control content to youth without parental consent under a tentative agreement reached by state lawmakers.
New York City’s Legal Battle Against Social Media Giants Over Youth Mental Health
In recent years, social media platforms have come under scrutiny for its addictive nature and impact on the youth.
As per New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, in the month of February his administration has filed a lawsuit against social media companies including Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram for fuelling mental health crisis among the youth.
As per the report, this legislation was aimed to prevent companies from serving automated feeds to minors, the report said.
It is expected that this week there shall be voting on the bill. As per WSJ, if this is passed, it would also prohibit platforms from sending minors notifications during overnight hours without parental consent.
Protecting Children Online by Social Media Regulation Bill
In the month of March, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis had signed a bill that would ban children aged under 14 from social media platforms and it would also require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds in an attempt to protect them from online risks to their mental health.
New York and Florida are not the first one in the list since there are many others which have adopted laws when it comes to regulating children’s access to social media.
Utah became the first U.S. state to adopt such laws. This was followed by others including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas.
Shares of Meta and Snap were down about 1 percent in extended trading.
