Ind. Senate Panel Punts on Social Media, Content Filters

Indiana lawmakers may address social media legislation next year, Senate Commerce Committee members said at a livestreamed hearing Thursday. The panel heard testimony but didn’t vote on SB-201, which would require that social media companies verify a user's age and obtain parental consent before a minor can open accounts. Also, the bill would require smartphone makers to activate content filters by default for minors. Sponsor Sen. Spencer Deery (R) hopes to continue the conversation and “find something that we can come back next year with … that will enter Indiana into this space,” he said as the hearing wrapped. Likewise, Committee Chair Brian Buchanan (R) said “this is something I want to continue discussion on and possibly bring back next year.” Buchanan seeks a balance between keeping kids safe and maintaining parental rights, he said. Content filter mandates and social media restrictions for minors are unconstitutional, Edward Longe, director-technology and innovation for free-market think tank James Madison Institute, argued. "Content filters represent a one-size-fits-all government solution to a problem that has already been resolved by the market,” he said. “There is no age restriction to the First Amendment.” Rather than restrict minors, it’s better to require online media literacy training, as in a 2023 Florida law, he told the committee. Longe didn’t mention that Florida House members Wednesday passed a bill restricting children younger than 16 from using social media regardless of parental consent (see 2401240079). Deery doesn’t want Indiana to ban kids from social media but rather give parents power to consent, said the Republican: Literacy training alone won’t cut it. The Computer & Communications Industry Association opposed SB-201 in written testimony. “While CCIA strongly supports the overall goal of keeping children safe online, requiring a state-specific default filter is technologically infeasible and would create unobtainable expectations with regard to content that filters can reasonably block.”