New York’s state legislature has passed a bill aimed at limiting children’s access to addictive social media feeds. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act prohibits social media companies from showing addictive feeds to children under 18, unless they have parental consent. An addictive feed is defined as one where the content is recommended or prioritized based on information about the user or the user’s device. This essentially refers to the algorithmic feeds used by most social apps.
The bill also restricts platforms from sending notifications related to these feeds between midnight and 6 a.m. without parental consent. Companies that violate the law could face penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. However, non-addictive feeds, such as those listed in chronological order, would still be allowed.
In addition to the SAFE for Kids Act, the New York Child Data Protection Act has also been passed. This act prohibits online platforms from collecting or selling personal data from users under 18 without informed consent. Both bills have been praised by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who is expected to sign them into law.
Despite the positive reception from some quarters, the SAFE Act has been criticized by NetChoice, a trade group whose members include Google, Meta, Snap, and TechCrunch’s parent company Yahoo. They describe the SAFE Act as dangerous and unconstitutional, arguing that it would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and track their online activity. However, a spokesperson from Meta highlighted a different aspect of the bills, welcoming New York as the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores.
Read more: techcrunch.com