As a direct response to increasing mental health issues among children and teenagers, New York State (NYS) has proposed new legislation aimed at limiting harmful social media features and preventing the collection of a minor’s personal data.
The Governor’s announcement from October 11th, highlights the need for these increased protections and provides an explanation of the new laws. This legislation includes two bills; the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and The New York Child Data Protection Act, which “add critical protections for children and young adults online by restricting the collection of minors’ personal data and changing how young users are served content online to reduce the harms of addictive features that keep children on social media longer.”
Bill #1: Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act
The SAFE for Kids Act will require social media companies to restrict the addictive features on their platforms that most harm young users. Currently, platforms supplement the content that users view from the accounts they follow by serving them content from accounts they do not follow or subscribe to. This content is curated using algorithms that gather and display content based on a variety of factors. However, algorithmic feeds have been shown to be addictive because they prioritize content that keeps users on the platform longer. Addictive feeds are correlated with an increase in the amount of time that teens and young adults spend on social media and significant negative mental health outcomes for minors.
To address this problem, the legislation will:
- Provide users under 18 with a default chronological feed from users they already follow – the same way that social media feeds functioned before the advent of addictive feeds. Users may also search for specific topics of interest. Minors may opt in to receiving addictive feeds with parental consent.
- Allow parents to block access to social media platforms for minors between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. and limit the total number of hours per day that a minor spends on platforms.
- Prohibit social media platforms from sending notifications to minors from 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. without parental consent.
- Authorize the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to bring an action to enjoin or seek damages or civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. Allow any parent/guardian of a covered minor to sue for damages of up to $5,000 per user per incident, or actual damages, whichever is greater.
- Provide platforms an opportunity to cure any claim brought by the parent/guardian of a covered minor.
This legislation will only impact social media platforms with feeds comprised of user-generated content along with other material that the platform recommends to users based on data it collects from them.
Bill #2: The New York Child Data Protection Act
With few privacy protections in place for minors online, children are vulnerable to having their location and other personal data tracked and shared with third parties. To protect children’s privacy, the New York Child Data Protection Act will prohibit all online sites from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18, unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website. For users under 13, this informed consent must come from a parent. The bill authorizes OAG to enforce the law and may enjoin, seek damages, or civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.
Additional information on this legislation and the Governor’s press release can be found here. Please contact our office by email at consumerprotection@erie.gov or call 716-858-1987, if you have additional questions or need assistance with a consumer protection related issue. Consumer Protection complaints can also be submitted through our website.
