N.Y. Gov. Hochul Will Sign Controversial Kids' Social Media Bills

New York will soon require social media platforms to obtain parental consent when using algorithms to sort feeds for minors.

The New York Assembly approved the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (Safe) for Kids Act S-7694 Friday, a day after the Senate passed it. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) plans to sign S-7694 and the New York Child Data Protection Act S-7695, which the Assembly passed Friday. A day earlier in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a kids’ social media bill despite saying he would prefer a federal law. The tech industry raised constitutional objections Friday.

NetChoice called S-7694 an “unconstitutional restriction on free speech,” noting similar measures were defeated in California, Arkansas and Ohio. “New York has created a way for the government to track what sites people visit and their online activity by forcing websites to censor all content unless visitors provide an ID to verify their age,” NetChoice General Counsel Carl Szabo said. It violates the First Amendment, trades parental control for “heavy-handed” government intervention and dictates how New Yorkers view online content, NetChoice said.

In addition to algorithm restrictions, S-7694 bans platforms from sending notifications to minors between midnight and 6 a.m. without “verifiable parental consent.” The bill grants the attorney general authority to seek injunctive relief and civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation.

S-7695 bans websites from collecting and sharing minors’ personal data without informed consent or unless “doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website.” Informed consent must come from parents of users younger than 13. The AG can seek injunctions and civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.

Hochul said Friday marks a “historic step” toward addressing the “youth mental health crisis.” AG Letitia James (D) called on other states to follow New York’s example and approve similar measures. Sens. Andrew Gounardes (D) and Jacob Asby (R) authored both bills. Assemblymember Nily Rozic (D) authored the companion bills A-08149 and A-08148.

Common Sense Media said the two bills will help New York set a “new standard” for children's data privacy and online protection. In a statement Thursday, the organization noted Maryland, Vermont and Colorado recently passed bills or enacted laws protecting children on social media. "This is a very big win for kids and families in New York, and potentially across the country," CEO James Steyer said.

In Colorado, Polis signed a children-focused bill (HB-1136) that would require the state’s education department to create elementary and secondary school curricula on social media’s mental health issues. In addition, it directs that social media platforms send notifications to young users. The governor noted he didn’t support the entire bill. Industry groups quickly condemned the measure on Friday.

“While I support most sections of the bill, I have concerns about provisions requiring social media platforms to display state-specific ‘pop ups,’ which is not the right approach to solving our youth mental health crisis,” Polis wrote in a Thursday letter to the General Assembly. “Colorado alone cannot regulate the internet, and a heavy-handed approach without flexibility will only discourage innovation and potentially prevent new entrants into Colorado.” That’s why Polis is glad the bill includes “an alternative path for platforms that would instead require them to operate within guidelines established by the Office of Information Technology.”

The state IT office will work with stakeholders and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on rules for the alternative path. This “will ensure that rules governing the way platforms serve children can keep pace with innovations in this rapidly evolving sector, and are not overly burdensome on users or new entrants to the technology space,” the governor said. While Polis remains “steadfast in [his] belief that a state-by-state approach to internet regulation is not as effective as federal action," he encourages "OIT and CDPHE to establish standards that remain true to the spirit of this bill while providing companies, parents, and children with latitude to innovate new ways to keep youth informed about the opportunities and dangers of our online world.

NetChoice thinks the Colorado bill violates the Constitution “through vaguely defined mandated disclosure requirements and suppression of speech and access to information online,” Szabo said Friday. “We agree that Internet regulation should occur at a federal level, not at a state level, due to the interstate nature of it, which is yet another reason why NetChoice opposes this legislation.” The Colorado law “requires pop-up notices for teens at times set by government, not parents, and also requires websites to tell teens about the mental impact of their products, not therapists,” Szabo said. It requires websites to collect more information about teens than they do today, he added.

TechNet raised First Amendment and compliance concerns with the new Colorado law. "It's not the internet of Colorado or Utah or New York,” said TechNet Colorado Executive Director Ruthie Barko. “A state-by-state patchwork confuses consumers and provides businesses, especially startups and small businesses, with uncertainty about their responsibilities.” TechNet supports heightened protections for children and its members are implementing those on their own, she said.