Sen. Gounardes: New York Can Protect Our Children Online and Take On Big Tech in 2024 Budget

ALBANY, NY (01/09/2024) (readMedia)-- In her State of the State address today, Governor Kathy Hochul prioritized protecting the mental health and well-being of children on social media, calling it the "defining challenge of our time." Governor Hochul specifically identified the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act (SAFE) and the New York Child Data Protection Act as part of her legislative agenda. Both sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, the bills prohibit social media companies from using addictive algorithm feeds and data collection on their users under the age of 18. But in order to effectively take on Big Tech and their deep pockets, Senator Gounardes is urging the Governor and Legislature to show a united front and prioritize protecting young users from dangerous social media practices in the final State Budget.

"I applaud Governor Hochul for prioritizing kids' health and safety online by including legislation I introduced along with Assemblyember Nily Rozic, in her State of the State address. It's time for New York to step up and break Big Tech's death grip on youth mental health by regulating addictive algorithms and protecting kids' privacy online. In the last year alone, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory highlighting the mental health risks kids face on the internet, and over 40 Attorneys General have filed a joint lawsuit against Meta for predatory behavior targeting young users. And yet, not a single piece of legislation that protects children online has been enacted since 1998. I look forward to working with Governor Hochul and my colleagues in the Senate and Assembly to pass the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act (SAFE) and the New York Child Data Protection Act in the New York State budget this year," said Senator Andrew Gounardes.

Children across the country are growing up accustomed to spending significant time online, and recent research paints a stark picture - revealing increased rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm among children and young adults due to increased social media use. According to recent research, half of teens say social media makes them feel worse about their body image, social media use leads to disrupted sleep cycles, and youth who spend more than three hours a day on social media double their risk for depression and anxiety: the average for overall Internet use is almost nine hours a day, not including time for homework.

The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act (SAFE) and the New York Child Data Protection Act, both very feasible regulations, aim to create critical protections for children and young adults online by restricting the collection of their personal data and changing how young users are served content online to reduce the harms of addictive features that keep children on social media longer.

BACKGROUND:

Bill #1: Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act

This SAFE for Kids Act will require social media companies to restrict the addictive features on their platforms that most harm young users. Currently, platforms supplement the content that users view from the accounts they follow by serving them additional content from accounts they do not follow or subscribe to. This content is curated using algorithms that gather and display content based on a variety of factors. However, algorithmic feeds have been shown to be addictive because they prioritize content that keeps users on the platform longer. Addictive feeds are correlated with an increase in the amount of time that teens and young adults spend on social media and significant negative mental health outcomes for minors.

To address this problem, the legislation will:

Ban social media platforms from offering addictive feeds to any persons under 18 without parental consent. Instead, users will receive a chronological feed of content from only the users that they already follow or feeds of generally popular content – the same way that social media feeds functioned before the advent of addictive feeds. Users may also search for specific topics of interest.

Prohibit social media platforms from sending notifications to minors from 12AM and 6AM without verifiable parental consent.

Allow users and parents to opt out of minors accessing social media platforms between the hours of 12AM and 6AM.

Authorize the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to bring an action to enjoin or seek damages or civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. Allow any parent/guardian of a covered minor to sue for damages of up to $500 per user per incident, or actual damages, whichever is greater.

This legislation will only impact social media platforms with feeds comprised of user-generated content along with other material that the platform recommends to users based on data it collects from them. For example, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube would all be subject to this legislation.

Bill #2: The New York Child Data Protection Act

With few privacy protections in place for minors online, children are vulnerable to having their location and other personal data tracked and shared with third parties. To protect children's privacy, the New York Child Data Protection Act will prohibit all online sites from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18 for the purposes of advertising, unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website. For users under 13, this informed consent must come from a parent. The bill authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to enforce the law and may enjoin, seek damages, or civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.