Social media companies required to better protect teen users under bill passed by Washington Senate
The Washington state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that aims to protect kids from the potentially harmful impacts of social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.
Senate Bill 5708 prevents social media companies from generating addictive feeds to minors based on data collected about the teens. It also forbids the platforms from delivering push notifications to kids during traditional school hours from September through May and from midnight to 6 a.m.
The measure requires platforms to allow all users, of any age, to set time limits on their use of the app and block the sharing of “likes” and other feedback.
SB 5708 passed shortly before the Legislature’s cutoff for approval. It had bipartisan support with 36 yeas, 12 nays and one excused.
The legislation was requested by Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and supported by Gov. Bob Ferguson.
While it’s difficult to quantify the role of social media in the youth mental health crisis, many researchers claim a correlation. One-third of teens say they use YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook “almost constantly,” according to a survey last year by Pew Research Center. At the same time, 40% of high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, while 20% seriously considered suicide, based on federal data from 2023.
