Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation commends Rep. Jared Patterson for his leadership in protecting children from the harms of social media. These pieces of legislation are geared toward addressing key root causes in the rampant increase of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidality in children.
House Bill 896 would place age restrictions on social media, while also requiring social media companies to verify the age of their users. The other pieces of legislation in the package would prohibit algorithmically targeting kids, prevent the use of social media platforms based in hostile nations, and urge Congress to act to protect minors online.
“We are tremendously encouraged by Rep. Patterson’s resolve to bring attention and solutions to the table,” said The Honorable Zach Whiting, policy director for Better Tech for Tomorrow. “Each of these bills in his package would reduce the exploitation of children by social media companies, an objective that 9 out of 10 Texans fully support.”