Ohio’s newest legislative strategy to protect children from social media seems doomed by the same forces that killed previous efforts and suggests that parents, not the state, are the ones who should fix this problem.
That’s the take from the Friday episode of Today In Ohio, the news discussion podcast from cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
After a federal judge struck down Ohio’s previous attempt to regulate minors’ social media use as a violation of free speech, lawmakers have pivoted to a different approach: targeting app stores rather than the platforms themselves. The new plan would make Apple and Google responsible for verifying users’ ages before they download certain apps, requiring parental permission for those under 16, according to a story by Anna Staver.
But the podcast hosts quickly identify the glaring problem with this strategy.
“I don’t see how this one passes the muster of the courts,” said Chris Quinn. “If the other law that would have prevented people from using social media unless they had parental permission was thrown out because it squashes freedom of speech, preventing them from getting those apps to begin with would seem to have the same problem.”
Leila Atassi comparing app restrictions to age limits on purchasing alcohol: “I think that acquiring a product I think is different from using it to, you know, to practice speech.”
However, she acknowledged the practical flaw that undermines the entire approach: “So this would put a limit on who is allowed to acquire it… but it actually doesn’t do anything because there’s no reliable way to verify kids age without raising serious privacy concerns.”
Also, she said, “Kids lie. They’ve been doing it since the dawn of the Internet.”
This cuts to the heart of why legislative approaches to social media regulation often fail – they look good on paper but fall apart in practice. The podcast discussion reveals how lawmakers repeatedly try to solve through legislation what is fundamentally a parenting challenge.
“Parents are the ones in charge of raising kids. We should be educating parents clearly about the dangers of social media so they take greater control,” said Quinn. “The gymnastics they’re doing trying to find a law that might help do this, it will just keep failing. The legal principles will continue to get in their way.”
The podcast conversation exposes the legislative tactics as potentially more about appearances than effectiveness, with Atassi calling it “grandstanding” and noting the law “will achieve nothing.”
So, is the answer to social media’s threat to children in lawmaking, which keeps running into the First Amendment?? Or in better parental education and tools? Today in Ohio hosts lean heavily toward the latter, suggesting that no matter how many regulatory approaches Ohio lawmakers try, the fundamental challenges of enforcement and constitutional rights will continue to derail their efforts.
As social media platforms evolve and children find increasingly creative ways to access them, this legislative cat-and-mouse game will evolve. The podcast highlights how even with the best intentions, lawmakers may be fighting a losing battle.
Listen to the debate here.
Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from Today in Ohio, a news podcast discussion by cleveland.com editors. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.
Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.
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