Enacts the "youth & teen internet safety and social media literacy act"; directs the commissioner of education to provide technical assistance to school districts for the development of curricula for such study of courses which shall be age appropriate and developed according to the needs and abilities of pupils at successive grade levels in order to provide awareness, skills, information, and support to aid in the safe usage of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8947
SPONSOR: Seawright TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the
"youth & teen internet safety and social media literacy act"; and to
repeal certain provisions of law relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
To establish the Youth & Teen Internet Safety and Social Media Literacy
Act.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 provides for the short title of the bill
Section two repeals Section 814 of the Education and adds a new section
to allow for the instruction on social media and internet safety with
applicable resources that are age appropriate and encourages the use of
a peer-to-peer observational learning and modeling concepts.
JUSTIFICATION::
Addictive algorithms and social media is having an impact on the Youth
in the State of New York. This legislation seeks to enhance the current
laws on the books to allow for a more focused instruction in Internet
safety. Current law does not sufficiently cover technologies available
to young people such as social media and artificial intelligence and has
not been updated since 2008, when MySpace was a top social media compa-
ny. Similar pieces of legislation have seen success in numerous states
and would allow us to protect our youth while educating them on the
benefits and risks of social media, the internet, and artificial intel-
ligence.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law.
