New Regs for Kids Online

o far this year there have been over 130 mass shootings and dozens of children injured or killed while at school, yet federal and state legislators are frozen in their tracks, and incapable of enacting reforms that would prevent such carnage. Republicans refuse to ban assault weapons, and Democrats think we can solve the problem if we stop selling guns altogether. Both positions are untenable. Meanwhile, neither political party is willing to re-route pork funding or foreign aid dollars to local schools for installing electronically locking doors and metal detectors, and for hiring armed o cers. Sadly, classroom massacres are becoming commonplace and I hold out little hope that our elected o cials will ever change their stripes. Clearly, we cannot keep our kids safe at school, but at least there is a move afoot to keep them safe when surfing the Internet.

We’re all familiar with the serious consequences that befall children who spend a lot of time online. Some are the victims of stalkers and predators. Others are bullied by their peers, often to such extremes that the victim elects to commit suicide. There’s even a recent incident in which a pre-teen was blackmailed after having been coerced into sharing a nude photo of himself. And of course, there are the problems that result just from spending too much time online. In those cases, kids don’t develop social skills, don’t exercise, participate in team sports, don’t date, and don’t focus on their studies. That’s why a growing number of state legislatures are passing laws to reform and curtail the amount of time spent online by minors.

Last month, for example, Utah Governor

SSpence Cox signed a bill that will require children to get permission from their parents in order to access social media.

Yahoo! News’ Mike Bebernes reports that the legislation also established a late-night curfew on social media for minors and requires companies to provide parents with complete access to their child’s account.

Meanwhile Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week signed a new law that will require parental permission before a child can open a social media account. And, according to a report by Roll Call’s Gopal Ratham, starting next year, California will require tech companies to design apps that default to privacy and safety settings to protect children’s mental and physical health.

Other states are also jumping on the reform bandwagon including Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas whose legislators are drafting bills that would require age verification of minors and seek parental consent for children to go online.

Naturally, these reforms are being met with opposition from those who say such policies violate a child’s First Amendment rights. According to Bebernes, those critics are concerned about privacy rights, especially for LGBTQ children, “whose online communities may be their only source of support.”

With all due respect to critics of these new legislative initiatives, such reforms and constraints are a necessary step toward pushing for the FCC to eventually regulate the Internet in general, and social media platforms specifically. After all, broadcasters have been regulated for over 80 years, so it’s high time that other communication mediums receive the same oversight, especially when it comes to protecting our children. !

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15) and streaming on WFMY+.