NYs social media ban alone wont squash kids addictions parents need to step up too
New York State has moved to protect kids from addictive social media platforms, announcing on Tuesday that the SAFE for Kids Act has been finalized and will go into effect early next year.The law promises to stop social media companies from feeding kids personalized content via algorithms and sending them notifications deep into the night.But any parents hoping this will be a fix-all should think again.
Similar legislation implemented around the country has been blocked by courts, and social media laws in other countries like Australia and the United Kingdom have proven that kids find ways around restrictions faster than the law can keep up.Maybe the SAFE for Kids Act will keep some tweens from being woken up by Instagram at 2 a.m., but parents beware: lawmakers can’t be kids’ online chaperones.It’s up to family, educators, and community to hold the line.This week, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced the finalized version of the SAFE for Kids Act — short for “Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation” — and confirmed it will go into effect on January 25, 2027.The new law would prevent qualifying social media companies from presenting minors with an algorithmically personalized feed and would also bar them from delivering them notifications between midnight and 6 a.m.New York kids can only overrule the default setting if a parent consents, according to the law, which will be enforceable by civil penalties and age-verification processes, like government ID verification, facial age estimation, and checks against official records.Critics have warned that age verification means that everyone is less free online, and that requiring users to prove their identities can jeopardize adults’ right to go online and speak anonymously without government oversight.New York’s law, to its credit, has attempted to placate concerns by giving platforms the option to choose “zero-knowledge” age verification systems, which are cryptographic a...