To protect young people from the negatives of social media, New York lawmakers have joined other states like Utah by taking the fight to those in charge, including social media companies like Meta, X, and ByteDance.

On Friday, New York state lawmakers passed legislation to protect minors from the risks associated with social media use. This legislative package included two significant bills: one to prevent social media platforms from exposing minors to "addictive" algorithmic content without parental consent and another to restrict the collection and sale of personal data of underage users.

SAFE for Kids Act

The first bill passed by the New York state lawmakers is the SAFE Act (Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation) for Kids Act. This Act is designed to ensure that the mental health of young social media users is made a priority. 

Under the SAFE Act, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube will be prohibited from delivering algorithm-driven content to users under 18 without parental consent. The consent previously required was more or less unspecifc, with users easily bypassing the fine print.

The result of this was keeping users engaged on the platform for extended periods, which allegedly causes addiction. The SAFE Act ensures that young users receive a chronological feed from accounts they follow or generally popular content.

One of the strong supporters of the legislation, Governor Kathy Hochul, said, "This is a historic step forward in our efforts to address the youth mental health crisis and create a safer digital environment for young people."

New York Child Data Protection Act

The second bill passed was the New York Child Data Protection Act. This bill addresses privacy concerns for all young users in New York. The bill barres social media platforms from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone under 18 without informed consent. 

For users under 13, parental consent is mandatory. Violations of this Act could result in civil damages or penalties of up to $5k per violation. This allows young users control over their data. This bill follows similar regulations passed by states like Utah, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, and Florida.tional muster and that enforcement would result in irreparable harm to free speech rights. 

Industry Reaction and Opposition

While many people agree that protecting young social media users must be a priority for everyone, including the government and social media companies, the response from the tech industry has been mixed. 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, acknowledged the responsibility of app stores in this context but did not fully endorse all aspects of the bills.

NetChoice have gone as far as openly condemning the bills. They have described the legislation as an assault on open intent and free speech. NetChoice insists that the new legislative measures push for content censorship behind age restrictions, potentially infringing First Amendment rights.

Other critics of the law, including TechNet, the Chamber of Progress, and The New York Inclusive Internet Coalition, argue that content moderation will have a negative impact. They argue that algorithmic tools are essential for filtering harmful content and that the new laws could lead to unintended consequences, such as prioritizing spam or harmful speech in chronological feeds.

The New York Internet Coalition also points out that the laws could potentially undermine community support of marginalized groups on social media, including LGBTQ+ youth and undocumented immigrants.

What's Next for the New York Social Media Laws?

If these two bills are to be enacted, there is potential for the laws to face significant legal challenges. Aynne Kokas, a Media Studies Professor, stated the bills might struggle with oversight because of the size of some platforms. 

This is because of the resource constraint and the number of uses in populous states like New York. Plus, enforcing age verification and data privacy measures poses logistical difficulties. Despite opposition, Governor Hochul is expected to sign these bills into law.