The state of Utah, in the United States, has passed a law requiring minors under the age of 18 who want to join a social network to obtain parental consent first. The law, supported by both Republicans and Democrats, was signed Thursday by the state governor, Republican Spencer Cox, and will take effect in March 2024: Utah is the first US state to introduce such a law.
In addition to consent for registration, the law provides that parents of minors must have full access to their children’s accounts. Social networks will also have to introduce a limit on the hours of use, blocking access between 10.30 pm and 6.30 am (but parents will be able to change these hours if they wish).
We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth. Today we signed two key bills in our fight against social media companies into law:
➡️ SB152 requires social media companies to verify that users in https://t.co/GVAcSi9zHx… pic.twitter.com/M1Kbya1xQi
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) March 23, 2023
