New York Dems File Bills Targeting Youth Social Media Addiction

New York officials and legislators introduced two pieces of legislation Wednesday meant to limit “addictive” social media features for children and teens. Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced two bills with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D) and Assemblymember Nily Rozic (D). The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (Safe) for Kids Act would require platforms to give users under 18 “default chronological” feeds from “users they already follow.” The bill is intended to limit algorithmic feeds that “have been shown to be addictive because they prioritize content that keeps users on the platform longer.” The New York Child Data Protection Act would ban all websites from collecting and sharing personal data of users under 18 for advertising purposes, “unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website.” The legislation “empowers both parents and young users, giving them the assurance that their online experiences will be free from pervasive monitoring and data exploitation,” said Rozic.