New York considers regulating what children see in social media feeds

New York lawmakers on Tuesday said they were finalizing legislation that would allow parents to block their children from getting social media posts curated by a platform's algorithm, a move to rein in feeds that critics argue keep young users glued to their screens.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have been advocating for the regulations since October, facing strong pushback from the tech industry. The amended version removes provisions that would have limited the hours a child could spend on a site. With the legislative session ending this week, Albany lawmakers are making a final push to get it passed.

“The algorithmic feeds are designed as dopamine for kids,” Assembly sponsor Nily Rozic, a Democrat, said Tuesday. “We are trying to regulate that design feature.”

The legislation in New York follows actions taken by other U.S. states to curb social media use among children. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation banning social media accounts for children under 14 and requiring parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds. Utah in March revised its policies, requiring social media companies to verify the ages of their users, but removing a requirement that parents consent to their child creating an account. A state law in Arkansas that also would have required parental consent was put on hold last year by a federal judge.