New Illinois law aims to rein in 'snake oil' social media apps getting kids hooked on scrolling — Chicago Sun-Times

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

New Illinois law aims to rein in 'snake oil' social media apps getting kids hooked on scrolling — Chicago Sun-Times | AIPROPX

TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and other Big Tech giants will be required to strengthen privacy settings for minors under new Illinois legislation that seeks to crack down on addictive social media designs that keep kids scrolling for hours on end.

The Children’s Social Media Safety Act, signed into law Friday by Gov. JB Pritzker, takes aim at addictive algorithms that can glue young people to their phones to the detriment of their mental health.

“They feed our kids an unrealistic picture of life and sell them products and agendas to achieve it,” Pritzker said at a South Side bill-signing. “The issue is they're selling snake oil — frankly, they're selling lies. When their business model depends on keeping kids attention at any cost, their well-being takes a backseat. Today, Illinois is saying enough is enough.”

The legislation, which was passed unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly in the spring, puts guardrails around how companies can direct content to young people, rather than restrict the content itself.

Kids will still have access to the popular apps, but their feeds will be limited to accounts that they follow — not targeted content — with posts shared in chronological order. Their profiles won’t be accessible to adult strangers, with notifications blacked out from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“We're closing the door, and we will do everything within our power to make sure that the predators do not have access to the children within the state of Illinois,” said the bill's chief sponsor, state Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago. “Innovation and child safety are not competing interests. You do not have to choose between technological progress and protecting children.”

Gov. JB Pritzker signs legislation in Chicago Friday targeting social media’s potential harm to young people.

The companies have to establish an “age assurance system” that doesn’t require an ID or facial recognition.

Parents will set their child’s age while setting up the youngster’s device, which will signal apps to deploy the safeguards for minors. Parents will be able to tweak the settings under the law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2028.

The nonpartisan Taxpayers Protection Alliance opposed the legislation in Springfield, calling it “a step toward age verification and allowing the government to police speech.”

Pritzker’s office says the law’s focus on design features rather than content means “children can still access information and community online but aren’t subjected to the most harmful and addictive features of social media platforms.”

The law also shields minors’ locations and limits digital currency transactions, and their accounts won’t be visible to adult strangers, or pop up on algorithmically curated “for you” pages.

News websites, broadband service providers, email providers and learning management systems are exempt from the requirements. Companies that don’t comply face $50,000 penalties for each violation.

Former U.S. Surgeon Gen. Vivek Murthy proposed putting warning labels on social media sites akin to those slapped on packs of cigarettes, citing studies that have shown harmful effects on their mental health.

Chief House sponsor state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, said the law “doesn't solve this problem on its own, but it says something important.

“The platforms have a responsibility to the children using them — that our kids deserve the chance to explore, make mistakes and grow up on their own terms, not on an algorithm’s,” she said. “That's what this bill is about, giving our children room to be children, free of a feed that's optimized to grab their attention, instead of encourage their self-esteem, their well-being and their opportunity to grow.”