RICHMOND, Va. — Efforts to regulate social media use by children and teenagers in Virginia have stalled in this year's General Assembly.
Several bills, including those aimed at curbing addictive social media feeds and restricting usage during late-night hours, have not progressed beyond the committee stage.
One notable bill, sponsored by Democratic Del. Josh Thomas (D-Prince William), was sent to a commission for further study after failing to advance out of a House subcommittee on Monday morning.
The proposed legislation sought to ban social media companies from offering algorithmic or addictive feeds to users under 18 without parental consent.
Thomas expressed concerns over the impact of these feeds on the mental well-being of young users.
"It's about protecting our children not from a virus. Not from an illness, but from addiction. The addictive nature of social media," Del. Thomas (D - Prince William) said. "It's a feed that the computer or the algorithm has generated to keep you, the user, entertained. To keep you on the app. It's completely different from a chronological feed, where you, the user have affirmatively chosen different pieces of media to watch."
The bill faced opposition from social media giants like Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook.
Jennifer Hanley, head of Meta's North American Safety Policy team, argued that the company already has safety measures in place, including new teen accounts.
"We share the same goal as Delegate Thomas, but we don't think this is the right way to do it," Hanley said. "The algorithm is helping to take out what would be considered borderline content, stuff that doesn't necessarily violate our community standards, but might not be appropriate for a younger audience."
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Hanley noted that the proposed bill could undermine the effectiveness of these measures and place an excessive burden on parents, as the legislation could affect not just feeds but also comments and would operate on an app-by-app basis.
"Any legislative approach that requires age assurance or parental consent should be implemented at the app store level," she said. "This would reduce the burden on parents, ensure teens are placed at age appropriate experiences across all of the apps they use."
"My son is the son and the grandson of immigrants," Thomas said. "There's an immense amount of anti immigrant sentiment and hate on a lot of these social media apps. He's also biracial. There's an immense amount of racist material on these apps and I want to protect him from that."
While the House version of the bill awaits further review, a corresponding Senate version has yet to be heard.
Other social media-related bills, including those that would restrict usage by minors between midnight and 6 a.m., have been effectively shelved.
Additionally, bills requiring parental consent for account creation have either been dismissed or remain unheard.
Should Virginia lawmakers pass new laws governing social media? Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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