Georgia bill would ban kids younger than 14 from social media

“Social media for young people right now has just become more harmful. They are exposed to predatory behavior. They’ve been experiencing more negative mental health outcomes, and it is a result of social media exposure,” Merritt said.

If the bill were to pass, social media companies could face a $50,000 fine per violation.

The bill also would require 14- and 15-years-olds to have parental consent before opening a social media account. Children in that age range are in a critical and impressionable time, Merritt said, adding she would rather have teenagers focus on school than their online presence.

“They (social media companies) don’t really care how many kids are using it and for how long because it’s about the dollar for them,” she said. “They get more people, more users, and they make more money.”

The legislation takes aim at powerful companies, such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, by limiting what user data companies can collect. Often, platforms rely on user data to create complex algorithms to curate personalized content and advertising feeds, keeping users engaged.

Georgia is one of several states to have passed laws in recent years limiting children from accessing social media without parental consent.

A bill prioritized by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and signed into law last year requires social media companies to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to verify that account holders are at least 16 years old. Additionally, it protects children from companies that collect and use their personal data for targeted advertising.

She said that her bill gives last year’s Republican-backed measure “more teeth,” but she has yet to attract a GOP member to cosponsor the bill.

“I just know that my colleagues on the other side are just very cautious about what bills are being heard,” Merritt said.

Many experts are concerned that exposure to social media is contributing to increasing rates of anxiety and depression. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy wrote a New York Times op-ed calling for social media warning labels notifying users of the mental health risks associated with these platforms.

“Collective alarms coming from various trusted sources signal that this is not good for children, at least in large quantities,” said Titania Jordan, chief marketing officer of Bark, an Atlanta-based technology company that allows parents to monitor and limit the online activity of their children.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, has said it would prefer federal limitations over a patchwork of state laws with varying requirements, but the company has indicated it does not oppose regulation.

Some companies have tightened what children can see on their platforms. Instagram limits who can contact users 16 or younger and shields them from content deemed harmful. Those restrictions can be loosened with parental consent.

But Jordan and Merritt said those measures are largely ineffective.

“They aren’t taking those strong measures to prevent minors from creating an account, even when parents draw attention to the fact that they don’t consent for their children to have accounts,” Merritt said. “It’s money.”