MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — On Tuesday, Representative David Steffen (R-Howard) announced legislation that will establish protections for Wisconsin kids who have social media accounts.
Rep. Steffen says the legislation is based on research and reports connecting social media use to mental health problems in youth.
“Today, social media companies, advertisers, and predators have easy, electronic access to our kids. It has become obvious that this has been at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our children. It’s our job as parents or guardians to keep our kids safe, but the current online environment has made that nearly impossible. This legislation will assist parents and protect children by enacting a series of common-sense requirements on social media companies,” said Rep. Steffen.
Rep. Steffen’s proposal is modeled after the recently signed Utah law, which established enforceable regulations for social media companies to follow when administering accounts held by children.
Specifically, Rep. Steffen’s legislation will:
o Enhance parental oversight and access to their child’s account
o Require age verification to ensure restrictions are placed on accounts held by kids
o Protect children during the overnight hours by establishing a nighttime curfew on their accounts between the hours of 10 p.m. – 7 a.m.
o Restrict the type of advertising and direct messaging targeted at minor accounts
o Impose penalties on social media companies for noncompliance
Social media companies are responsible for creating and implementing the tools to enforce the rules outlined in the legislation. Social media platforms that fail to do this will be subject to fines of $100 per day/per account.
The bill will be formally introduced in the coming weeks and begin working its way through the legislative process this session.
