Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) is delighted that New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law two bills which he co-sponsored: The groundbreaking SAFE Act, which limits the ability of social media companies to flood the feeds of minor users with addictive posts, and the New York Child Data Protection Act, which prohibits those companies from collecting, using, sharing or selling the personal data of children under the age of 18, unless informed parental consent has been provided or unless, according to the bill, such actions are “strictly necessary” to fulfill the website’s purpose.

“The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act is the first such legislation in the country to tackle this increasingly problematic issue, which has impacted children’s mental health as well as their ability to concentrate on critical schoolwork,” noted Assemblyman Colton. “By prohibiting such companies as Instagram, TikTok and SnapChat from overwhelming children with algorithmically-driven feeds that keep them scrolling, unless parents have given permission, this act aims to break the cycle of endless scrolling, which can replace healthy activities during a child’s free time or time when they should be doing schoolwork.”

Preventing social media companies from data mining also will benefit families, Assemblyman Colton said. “This will protect their personal information, which unfortunately is sought after by many unscrupulous individuals, and which can be used in harmful ways,” he said.

As social media has grown in prominence and expanded its reach, a growing body of data has raised concerns about the connection between the time youngsters spend on social media and mental health impacts. These include a significant increase in the rate of “depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and self-harm,” according to the text of the legislation, which also asserts that “Research shows that spending time on social media is ten times more dangerous than other kinds of screentime,” particularly for girls, citing general mental health issues as well as such problems as binge drinking, obesity and hard drug use.

Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a statement outlining a variety of concerns about social media. “The most common question parents ask me is, ‘is social media safe for my kids,’” he said. “The answer is that we don't have enough evidence to say it's safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health. Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content, to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends. We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address.”

Social media companies found to have violated either law can be subject to civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.