MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Can state lawmakers prevent Vermont youth from getting hopelessly hooked on social media? A bill approved by the Senate on Thursday attempts to do just that.
Children 8 to 12, on average, spend four to six hours a day on screen time, and it’s almost nine hours for teens, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. What’s the key to getting kids off their devices? Vermont Democratic lawmakers say one of the solutions may be their “Kids Code” bill.
“This is a bill that is fundamentally about the protection, the well-being, the safety, and the mental health of our young people,” said Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden County.
Senate Bill 69 would require social media apps to set privacy at the highest level for children. That means data collected from children can’t be sold to advertisers. It would also block push notifications from midnight to 6 a.m., as well as block messages from unknown adults, in an effort to decrease sex trafficking.
“My generation deserves better and it is up to our lawmakers to hold these companies accountable,” said Zoe Mui, a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School.
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Data from the CDC shows a spike in suicide and depression among young girls starting around the time Facebook and Instagram became commonplace.
Legislators opposed to the bill say its language doesn’t prevent these health concerns. “It really doesn’t do what it’s reported to do. It is not a Kid’s Code bill. This is a bill that is written by trial lawyers to sue businesses that don’t have the capability to defend themselves very well,” said Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex-Orleans Counties.
We asked Ingalls if he has other ideas for protecting kids from the ills of social media but he did not offer specifics.
Gov. Phil Scott last year vetoed a broader data privacy bill with similar provisions for youth, saying that it would harm businesses and was also untested in the courts.
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