A new bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz (D-HI), Sen. Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Murphy (D-CT), and Sen. Britt (R-AL) would combine some of the worst elements of various social media bills aimed at “protecting the children” into a single law. It contains elements of the dangerous Kids Online Safety Act as well...

The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act has five major components:

  • Mandate that social media companies verify the ages of all account holders, including adults
  • Ban on children under age 13 using social media at all
  • Mandate that social media companies obtain parent or guardian consent before minors over 12 years old and under 18 years old may use social media
  • Ban on the data of minors (anyone over 12 years old and under 18 years old) being used to inform a social media platform’s content recommendation algorithm
  • Creation of a digital ID pilot program, instituted by the Department of Commerce, for citizens and legal residents, to verify ages and parent/guardian-minor relationships