Does your kid want an Instagram or TikTok account? When Ohio's new parental law starts
An Ohio law will soon go into effect that makes it so parents have to allow children under the age of 16 to use certain social media sites — a government oversight that goes further than some pending federal laws on the topic.
Ohio's Social Media Parental Notification Act becomes law Jan. 15 after it was passed last year as part of the state's two-year budget.
Ohio's law applies to new accounts being created on gaming platforms, message boards and social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat and requires them to get verifiable parental permission for children under age 16 to create new accounts on the sites.
Both Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Attorney General Dave Yost pushed for the act, with proponents saying it will help stem the youth mental health crisis after studies showed social media can harm mental health.
But, a trade group representing Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), TikTok and other tech companies filed a federal lawsuit in early January claiming that the Ohio law is too broad and is in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
NetChoice, the trade group, said families can decide themselves how they use social media and that tech companies already have protections for youth users.
Similar policies in Arkansas and California were blocked by judges temporarily after similar suits were filed by NetChoice.
Here's what Ohioans need to know about the law as it goes into effect in a little more than a week.
What is in Ohio's social media law?
The law states that certain technology, social media and gaming companies must:
Create a method to figure out if users are children under 16
Get parental or legal guardian consent to their terms of service before children under the age of 16 can use the platform and send the parent a copy of their consent in writing.
Give parents their privacy guidelines so they know what will be censored or moderated on a child's profile.
Deny access to the user if there is no consent given.
Present parents with a list of censoring or content moderation features.
Comply by Jan. 15, 2024
What is 'verifiable' parental consent?
Husted's office detailed possible ways to verify that children are under 16 and have parental consent in an online posting about the act.
His office suggested that companies can have parents give consent by:
Signing a digital form
Using a credit card, debit card or other online payment system
Calling a toll-free telephone number
Connecting to trained personnel via video-conference
Offering a form of government-issued identification to be checked
Why are lawmakers championing this?
Husted and other proponents have pushed the law because they say tech companies are "targeting children."
Husted said addictive social media algorithms negatively affect children's mental and physical health.
Health officials, such as U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, have warned that social media can affect the mental health of children and teenagers, leading to double the risk of anxiety and depression.
Cyberbullying and exposure to dangerous predators also put children at risk for mental and physical health concerns, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
"This new law gives parents a greater say in if, how and when their children use these platforms," Husted said in a statement on the act. "We hope that more parents will either prohibit or limit the amount of interaction their children are having, amount of time their children are spending on their devices, on these apps, and put filters on it to make sure that it is limiting the age-level content if they really want their children to be seeing."
Yost's office will enforce the law and if companies fail to get permission or deny the child an account without it, they will be subject to civil penalties and fines.
“Just like any other time, if you feel like you’ve been wronged by a company, we take those complaints and work to resolve any issues – this is no different," Yost said in a prepared statement.
If parents want to terminate their child's existing access, they should contact the website operator, which will have 30 days to comply with the request, according to Yost's office. If parents aren't successful, they can file a complaint with Yost's office at OhioProtects.org.
Is there federal social media legislation?
There are multiple federal bill tackling safety on social media for children, two with bipartisan support and similar restrictions to Ohio's act.
One is the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which was introduced in the U.S. Senate in May, passed by committee in August and progressed to the entire Senate in December, but was not brought up for a vote.
If passed, the bill states that requirements for platforms would include: site designs that prevent harm to minors; giving parents tools to supervise minors' use; allowing reporting of harm of minors; not advertising age-restricted products to minors; annually reporting risks of harm to minors using the platform.
Another is the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which goes further than KOSA and is similar to Ohio's law. It was introduced in the Senate in April.
If passed, the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would require platforms to verify the age of account holders; limit access for children under 13; gain consent from parents or guardians of minors who are 13-years-old before accounts are created and allow the parents to take away their consent.
The nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation has come out strongly against the bills and said the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act combines "some of the worst elements of various social media bills" into one law.
"Ultimately, this legislation would lead to a second-class online experience for young people, mandated privacy-invasive age verification for all users, and in all likelihood, the creation of digital IDs for all U.S. citizens and residents," the nonprofit's website states.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, the bill's sponsors U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.)explained why they introduced the act.
“The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act would not solve every problem of the digital age, but it would curb some of the worst abuses of social media companies that prioritize profit over our kids’ safety and well-being," the senators wrote. "Congress can no longer sit on the sidelines."
What's next?
The federal bills are making their way through the Senate.
As for Ohio's law, the case NetChoice, LLC. v. Yost is pending in the United States District Court's Southern District of Ohio. It was filed on Jan. 5, according to court records.
Unless a court blocks the Ohio law, it will go into effect Jan. 15.
USA Today Network Ohio Bureau reporters Kayla Bennett and Haley BeMiller contributed to this reporting.
dking@dispatch.com
@DanaeKing
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How it works: Ohio law gives parents more control of kids social media
