US state brings law making parental consent necessary for social media use 

The state of Utah in the US on Thursday (March 23) became first state in the country to impose rules on social media sites that'll make them get parental consent for accounts used by under-18s. With this, Utah has placed the burden on social media platforms to verify age of users. The law will come into effect in March 2024.

The legislation was introduced in response to fears over growing youth addiction to social media, and to security risks such as online bullying, exploitation, and collection of children's personal data.

However, the law has led to warning from tech firms as well as civil liberties group that it would limit online access of marginalised teens and have implications for free speech.

"We're no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth," tweeted Spencer Cox, governor of the western US state, who signed two related bills at a ceremony Thursday.

The bills also require social media firms to grant parents full access to their children's accounts, and to create a default "curfew" blocking overnight access to children's accounts.

They set out fines for social media companies if they target users under 18 with "addictive algorithms," and make it easier for parents to sue social media companies for financial, physical or emotional harm.

"We hope that this is just the first step in many bills that we'll see across the nation, and hopefully taken on by the federal government," said state representative Jordan Teuscher, who co-sponsored the bill.

Michael McKell, a Republican member of Utah's Senate who also sponsored the bill, said it was a "bipartisan" effort, and praised President Joe Biden's recent State of the Union address, in which he raised the issue.

(With inputs from agencies)

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