Children and Media

Ahead of a recent vote in Congress on a child safety bill, a powerful tech lobby representing Google, Meta and other major tech firms sent a forceful warning to lawmakers. The Kids Online Safety Act was “bad on policy and bad on the law,” the lobby, NetChoice, said in a statement, adding, “Courts across the country repeatedly halted these types of provisions.” The child safety bill, which would require social media platforms and other sites to limit features that can promote cyberbullying, har

An idea percolating all summer in the big national argument about social media—warning labels to help reduce the harms of online platforms to kids—has suddenly landed in Congress. Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced a bill requiring platforms to add those labels.

During the Trump Administration, the Federal Trade Commission ordered nine of the largest social media and video streaming services—Amazon, Facebook (which is now Meta), YouTube, Twitter (now known as X), Snap, ByteDance (which owns TikTok), Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp—to provide data on how they collect, use, and present personal information, their advertising and user engagement practices, and how their practices affect children and teens.

Sens Katie Britt (R-AL) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would create a mental health warning label requirement for social media platforms. This bipartisan legislation would ensure all users, especially adolescents, are aware of the potential mental health risks posed by social media usage and are provided access to mental health resources. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy recently recommended a warning label be placed on social media platforms.

Building on his calls for school districts to restrict the use of smartphones on school campuses, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, to require every school district, charter school, and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed SB 976 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), which prohibits online platforms from knowingly providing an addictive feed to a minor without parental consent. The bill also prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications to minors during school hours and late at night. The new law prohibits internet service and applications from providing “addictive feeds,” defined as media curated based on information gathered on or provided by the user, to minors without parental consent.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel continued her 2024 Connectivity Tour, focused on closing the Homework Gap, with a visit to Winters’ Well Elementary School in Tonopah (AZ). She was joined by Saddle Mountain Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Winters to meet with parents, teachers, and school staff to discuss access to broadband for students in rural communities through the federal E-rate program and how updates to this foundational program can improve internet access to students regardless of where they live.

One in five U.S. students attends K-12 school in a rural district. The reduced economies of scale in those schools can result in limited funding, barriers to on-going professional training for teachers and other factors that implicate trickle-down impacts on student experiences. However, many schools are developing creative solutions to address their needs, relying on technology and innovative solutions.

In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued 6 Orders to nine of the largest social media and video streaming services—Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snap, ByteDance, Discord, Reddit, and WhatsApp. At the time, a bipartisan group of Commissioners issued a joint statement warning that far too much about how these platforms operate is “dangerously opaque,” with critical questions around data collection and algorithms “shrouded in secrecy.” On September 20, the FTC released a groundbreaking report that sheds light on how these powerful companies have operated.

One of the oddest areas of law under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission is 47 U.S.C. § 230 (Section 230). This is the law that shields internet service providers and social media platforms from liability for content created by users. Section 230 is very much in the political news these days. There were 25 bills introduced in Congress over the last two sessions to modify Section 230 language. The bills look at a range of different topics. One set of proposed regulations would provide more protection for children online.