Senators propose a total ban on social networks for children in the US

The exposure of minors to social networks continues to generate controversy due to the alleged damage that can be caused to them, but some senators have gone further to solve the problem and are proposing to prohibit children's access to said platforms.

According to AP, a bipartisan group of US senators has proposed a bill to ban all US children under the age of 13 from using social media.

The four senators who have proposed the legislation say they “believe they represent the millions of American parents who are seriously concerned that social media companies do not largely control what they can offer their children.”

The four lawmakers - Republicans Tom Cotton and Katie Britt and Democrats Chris Murphy and Brian Schatz - gave a joint interview to AP about the bill, saying they too are parents concerned about the dangers of social media for their own children.

Sen. Britt, who is the mother of two young Alabama teenagers, told the outlet that “enough is enough” when it comes to the troubling effects of social media on children's mental health.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and father of two, told the outlet that while he sees many positives in social media, he knows kids who have been in dark places using these platforms

Schatz, another Democrat and main promoter of the new bill, rebutted critics who say his legislative proposal would curtail free speech on the Internet, saying that the idea that a 13-year-old boy has the right to be given permission by an algorithm is absurd. swallow annoying content.

Cotton acknowledged that there is significant bipartisan consensus on social media regulation, as evidenced by the fact that he and these three other senators have come together, and said it is an issue that unites parents across the country, regardless of their backgrounds. political opinions on other matters.

There are other projects

According to the AP, other bills targeting social media have recently been pushed through by bipartisan teams of senators. A bill proposed Wednesday by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy seeks to expand children's privacy protections on the Internet, prohibiting companies from collecting personal data from the youngest teens and banning advertising directed at children and teenagers.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., last year proposed a bill to make “social media platforms more secure and transparent by design,” and have resubmitted it. in the Senate this week.