Banning use of kids’ data in online algorithms would address a health crisis, lawmakers say
A bipartisan group of lawmakers and youth advocates want to prohibit large social media platforms from using children’s data in advertising and algorithmic recommendations.
Legislators developed House Bill 644, the “Social Media Algorithmic Control in IT Act,” in partnership with the NC Young People’s Alliance, a coalition of college students that works to elevate young people’s voices in politics.
Sam Hiner, a UNC-Chapel Hill student and the NCYPA’s executive director, said in a legislative press conference Wednesday that HB 644 would combat social media addiction and stymie the unhealthy effects it can have on young users.
“Platforms use the terrifying levels of data they’ve collected on us to show us an infinite stream of content that they know we’ll find engaging,” Hiner said. “And this keeps us unwittingly sucked into their apps, scrolling again and again for that next hit of dopamine.”
Social media addiction can foster crippling mental health disorders and disrupt child development, according to Dr. Stephanie Zerwas, clinical director of the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, who spoke at Wednesday’s press conference.
“Over the last three years, we have witnessed a dramatic surge in the number of kids who have been affected by eating disorders in North Carolina,” she said. “I can’t tell you how painful it is for me as a mental health professional to get calls every day from desperate parents who are looking for treatment and we just don’t have enough eating disorder experts to meet that demand. So why has this happened over the last three years? ...We aren’t exactly sure, but we know over the past three years teens spent an incredible amount of time on social media over the pandemic.”
HB 644’s text links social media usage to several mental health issues, including “depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation, especially among young people.”
The bill counts 35 House members, Republicans and Democrats, among its sponsors. State Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Charlotte Democrat, spoke in favor of the bill and said many from his chamber have expressed similar support.
Several senators hoped to file a companion bill to HB 644, Mohammed said, but they missed the chamber’s filing deadline, which came earlier than the House’s.
HB 644 is in keeping with a national trend among state legislatures to impose social media restrictions limiting what such platforms can do with user data. The bill has “a pretty good chance” of navigating the General Assembly and passing into law, according to House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican.
“It’s kind of scary — it’s almost Big Brother-esque — how big tech has all of this data that folks don’t necessarily know that they’re even sharing,” Moore said. “And what’s especially disturbing is what these young people pointed out, is harmful content being introduced and pushed on those who are still in their developmental years. I don’t know how else to say it. And I think whatever we can do as a state to deal with this we ought to do, and I’m very captivated by this legislation.”
As the top lawmaker in North Carolina’s House, Moore rarely signs onto bills as a sponsor. But when asked by The News & Observer if he would sponsor HB 644, Moore said “I may on this one.”
This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 11:36 AM.
