


Georgia Republicans have proposed a bill that would require parental consent for minors to join social media.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and state Sen. Jason Anavitarte cited the need to combat cyberbullying and the negative mental health effects of social media use among children. The measure would require companies to adopt age verification technology in the state. Speaking with Fox News, Anavitarte cited his position as a parent as forming the impetus for the bill.
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"As the parent of young kids, we must keep our kids safe with social media by empowering parents, and we need to ensure we crack down on cyberbullying of our youth in Georgia and across America," he said.
"Our goal is to ensure we’re safeguarding students against the harmful aspects of social media while maintaining their ability to learn, grow, and connect with the world around them," Jones added.
The bill would also require companies to remove "addictive content" from their platforms, though they didn't specify what would qualify as such content.
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The duo said that the bill is simply updating regulations "to reflect the realities of modern technology." They said that they have already entered preliminary discussions with Meta, the owner of Facebook, and other social media platforms, and have further talks planned in the future.
Georgia is following a trend of other red states moving to regulate social media companies, citing threats to the mental health of children. Republicans in Louisiana, Texas, and Ohio have introduced similar bills this year.