March 20, 2024
Provided Image/PA House Democratic Caucus
Luka Jonjic speaks at a news conference while state Rep. Brian Munroe looks on. Munroe teamed up with high school students Jonjic, Max Jin and Dylan Schwartz to write legislation targeting youth social media use.
Pennsylvania has joined the list of states considering legislation targeting the use of social media by youths. A bill in the Pennsylvania House by state Rep. Brian Munroe of Bucks County passed through committee Tuesday.
Last month, Munroe introduced House Bill 2017, which includes stronger age verification methods for anyone under the age of 16 and prohibits the data mining of users younger than 18.
House Bill 2017, which Munroe (D-144th District) authored with three high school students, also proposes that social media companies monitor all messages between two or more minors and notify parents or guardians of any sensitive or graphic content.
The legislation would amend Title 50 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, which relates to mental health. If enacted, authorities can impose fines on social media companies for any violations ranging from $2,500 to $50,000.
"This bill does not solve all issues with social media and its negative impact, but it does certainly continue the conversation," Munroe said at a Feb. 7 news conference introducing the bill.
With House Bill 2017 approved by the House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee, the legislation is on its way to a full House vote.
"We are one step closer today to helping to protect our children on social media as a result of this vote," Munroe said in a statement Tuesday. "I look forward to the full House voting on this bill, which will hopefully happen shortly."
In Florida, the state Senate passed a bill that would restrict the use of social media for children ages 13 and below, with 14 and 15-year-olds needing consent from parents to create accounts. Earlier this year, a federal judge blocked a bill with similar restrictions in Ohio.
Utah lawmakers passed a bill earlier this month that would allow parents to sue a social media company if they can prove that the use of social media adversely affected their child's mental health. Meanwhile, Maryland legislators are focusing on protecting children from targeted ads and data mining.
At the national level, the Senate has over 60 co-sponsors for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would require tech companies to make sweeping changes to their privacy and security settings.
And four senators introduced a stricter bill called the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act that would ban social media for kids under 13 and require parental consent for youth ages 14 to 17.
Trade association NetChoice, which includes Meta, TikTok, Google and several other notable tech companies, has opposed KOSA and the state bills from Florida, Ohio, Maryland and Utah. NetChoice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pennsylvania House Bill 2017.
The three students who helped write House Bill 2017 with Munroe — Max Jin, Luka Jonjic and Dylan Schwartz — was honored by C-SPAN for making a short documentary video called "America’s Silent Struggle: Social Media’s Impact on Teens’ Mental Health."
To Munroe, the video was a "cry for help for a generation," blaming social media for "soaring rates of anxiety, self-esteem issues and depression — all while social media companies rake in profits, with minimal accountability."
