State Senate to focus on teenage social media use, cyberbullying
Revealed 4:26 pm Monday, August 7, 2023
ATLANTA – The Georgia Senate will take up laws this winter geared toward defending youngsters from cyberbullying and different unfavorable results of social media use.
“So many unhealthy actors now are focusing on our youngsters,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the Senate, mentioned Monday throughout a information convention. “Folks perpetrating this stuff we’re going to attempt to maintain accountable.”
Quite a few research have discovered overuse of social media to pose a major hazard to younger individuals, notably ladies, growing their threat of suicide.
The proposed laws, which continues to be in growth, would require social media corporations to take concrete steps to confirm the age of their customers. Current guidelines requiring faculties to watch bullying could be up to date to replicate the realities of contemporary expertise.
The invoice additionally would require social media corporations to take away options they know or discover to be addictive to minors.
“We need to be delicate to the First Modification,” mentioned Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, who will function the invoice’s chief sponsor. “[But] we’re making a stand right here in Georgia. One thing’s obtained to vary.”
Jones mentioned the Georgia regulation might be modeled after these of states together with Louisiana, which has a regulation on its books requiring social media corporations to confirm the age of customers and imposing fines and/or jail time on these convicted of cyberbullying.
The Normal Meeting obtained its ft moist on the social media subject this 12 months, passing laws backed by Gov. Brian Kemp and sponsored by Anavitarte that bans Tik Tok from state-owned gadgets. The invoice got here on the heels of a memo Kemp issued late final 12 months banning Tik Tok, which is owned by a Chinese language firm, from telephones and laptops utilized by government department workers.
Jones mentioned he and different backers of the laws plan to succeed in out to social media corporations, native college methods and fogeys for concepts as they craft the invoice.
The 2024 Normal Meeting session will start Jan. 8.
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat Information Service
