New York lawmakers approve measure to protect youth on social networks

New York state lawmakers on Friday approved legislation to prohibit social networking platforms from exposing "addictive" algorithmic content to users under the age of 18 without parental consent, becoming the latest of several states to take steps to limit online risks to children.

A companion bill to restrict online sites from collecting and selling the personal data of underage users also won final legislative approval in the New York Assembly on Friday, a day after both measures passed the state Senate.

Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign both bills into law.

She called the two measures a "historic step in our efforts to address the youth mental health crisis and create a safer digital environment for young people."

Social media companies, such as Meta Platforms (META.O), which include Facebook and Instagram, could see their revenues affected.

Supporters of the legislation pointed to a recent Harvard University study that found that the six largest social media platforms generated $11 billion in targeted advertising to minors in 2022.

The bills' sponsors also cite studies linking higher rates of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health problems to what they define as excessive use of social networking sites by teens.

Industry association NetChoice condemned the legislation, calling it in a statement an "attack on free speech and the open Internet" by "forcing websites to censor all content unless visitors provide identification to verify their age."

The organization said it had successfully challenged similar measures by three other states in court as unconstitutional.

A spokesman for the governor said the law would not censor a site's content and provides for the use of one or more age verification methods that maintain user anonymity.

Meta, whose chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook, offered some support for the bill.

"While we do not agree with all aspects of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing app store liability," the company said in a statement.

Under a bill called the SAFE (Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation) for Kids Act, social network users under the age of 18 must obtain parental consent to view "addictive" feeds. This is generally defined as content that comes from accounts they don't follow or subscribe to, but is delivered by algorithms designed to keep them on a platform as long as possible.

Instead, minors on social networks may receive a chronological feed of content from accounts they already follow or generally popular content, the way sponsors say social network feeds worked before the advent of "addictive" algorithms.

Young users can still search for specific topics of interest, connect with friends and join online groups, while non-addictive algorithms used for search functions or filtering of unwanted or obscene content would still be allowed without parental consent.

According to a summary of the New York attorney general's bill, the legislation would apply to platforms whose feeds consist largely of user-generated content and material recommended to users based on the data it collects from them.

The summary named Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL.O) YouTube as among the platforms that would likely be subject to the measure.

The companion bill, called the New York Children's Data Protection Act, would 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 the collection and sharing of such data is strictly necessary for the purpose of the site.

For users under 13 years of age, informed consent would have to come from a parent.

Violators could be subject to civil damages or fines of up to $5,000 per violation.

In March 2023, Utah became the first U.S. state to adopt laws regulating children's access to social networks, followed by others, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas and Florida.

Collaboration: Grupo Auge | Reuters (International).