WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – A bill filed earlier this month looks to ban kids under 14 years of age from creating social media accounts.
House Bill 301 comes at a time when children on social media are at an all-time high, leaving them susceptible to online predators.
“There are tremendous issues that come with it such as cyberbullying to all kinds of potential mental health issues,” said House Bill 301 sponsor Jeff Zenger.
According to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center, there are an estimated 500,000 child predators online each day and children ages 12-15 are more likely to be targeted.
A problem Representative Zenger hopes to address.
“I wanna do two things. I wanted to restrict predator’s access to kids. And number two, I wanted to give a backstop to parents. This is not about harming parents, or saying parents aren’t doing a good job, or any of that. This is a tool for them to be able to stand behind them and say we’re with you mom and dad,” said Representative Zenger.
He urges parents to not misunderstand the purpose of filing this bill.
It is intended to support parents in their fight against screens, not hurt them.
“We need kids to get back to being kids. They don’t need to be on social media, they need to go out this summer and building tree forts, damming up a stream, go fishing, just get away from the social media get to real life again,” said Representative Zenger.
Representative Zenger says he is receiving positive feedback.
“What’s really amazing, is the response. It has been overwhelming from every walk of life, absolutely incredible. I got a text just a little while ago from someone saying thank you. I never expected them to contact me about it but they were saying thank you this is long overdue we need this,” said Representative Zenger.
As legislature stands now, kids are faced with the pressure of conforming to what their peers are doing.
“When you were a teen, what did you always tell your parents? Well everyone else is doing it. And that’s what we’re trying to stop,” said Representative Zenger.
Most social media apps require users to be at least 13 years old to create an account, but according to the U.S. Surgeon General, nearly 40% of children ages 8-12 use the apps and 95% of children ages 13-17.
Representative Zenger says this falls on the social media sites and owners, like Meta, to increase control over who is creating an account.
He says these companies have the power to market targeted ads to our devices, they should be using the same technology to monitor who is on the apps.
The bill’s next reading will be tomorrow in the House Judiciary Committee.
Representative Zenger says he expects the bill to move quickly after seeing the wave of support thus far.
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