Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth, one of the sponsors of HB 301, Social Media Protections for Minors Under 16, expects the bill to move forward in the Senate in the new year. The bill passed 106-6 in a bipartisan vote in the North Carolina House of Representatives earlier in the year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Zenger told the Carolina Journal. “I’ve had parents from every walk of life say thank you, people picking up the phone and calling me. I know some folks, quite frankly, that I’m never on the same side of an issue with saying thank you. It’s wildly popular across the political spectrum.”
The bill would prohibit anyone under the age of 14 from creating a social media account and require parental consent for those aged 14-15. The legislation requires platforms to use age verification before users can sign up and mandates that platforms delete accounts that violate these protections. The bill also empowers NCDOJ to take action against platforms for unfair or deceptive practices and allows civil lawsuits on behalf of minors harmed by these violations.
“Ten percent (10%) or more of daily active users who are younger than 16 years of age spend an average of two hours per day or longer on the online forum, website, or application on the days when using the online forum, website or application during the previous 12 months, or, if the online forum, website, or application did not exist during the previous 12 months, during the previous month,” reads the bill.
Age verification is a common concern, but reliable verification processes are already in place, according to Zenger. Data collected for age verification is the only purpose for which that data can be used, according to a clause in the bill.
Zenger has two primary goals with this bill: 1) to protect kids from the harmful effects of being on social media at a young age and 2) to be a backstop for parents who are trying to protect their kids.
“My hope is that we get kids back outside,” said Zenger. “Skipping rocks across the pond, damming up streams, and playing sports. I didn’t have anything social media computer-wise growing up; I think I’ve done all right. I think kids who are outside more are healthier, so that’s kind of my hope.”
This bill is cosponsored by Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore; Rep. Jonathan Almond, R-Cabarrus; and Rep. David Willis, R-Union. Zenger told Carolina Journal that Meta is actually in favor of the bill. Meta actually helped craft the language of the bill based on similar bills in Texas and Utah. Meta is also the driving force behind targeting apps, as that is where everything is headed and where it will continue to go, according to Meta. Zenger and the other co-sponsors worked with Meta to craft a PCS (proposed committee substitute to an original bill) that is ready when the Senate returns.
Additionally, a bill has been introduced at the federal level with similar protections to those in the state-level bill. The Federal bill is still known as the App Store Accountability Act.
Similarly, this bill would require age verification for downloading apps, and minors must be associated with a parent’s account, and it would also require age verification. The bill also includes data privacy protections, limiting the collection of personal data to the minimum necessary for age verification.
“I’m a firm believer in states’ rights and state power, and these are our kids,” said Zenger. “We need to jump ahead, with several states having already jumped out front of this. It’s much more difficult at the federal level to get something to go all the way through than it is at the state level. It’s not easy at the state level, but it’s much easier than the federal level. So I’m glad to see us go ahead and jump out in front of it. And if they can come along, that would be terrific. If they don’t, we’ll have North Carolina kids protected.”
