Instead of pursuing a straight ban on social accounts for children, Indiana lawmakers are now looking to give parents more control and force social media companies to redesign their platforms to be less addictive for kids.
Lawmakers previously proposed language in SB 199 that would have banned children 12 and under from owning any kind of social media accounts. Now, an amendment for the bill states that children 15 and under could still own social media accounts but companies would be required to limit certain “addictive design features” on the child’s accounts.
Parents would also have to give consent for any child 15 or under to create a social media account.
The move to restrict children’s social media usage has been a priority for lawmakers this session, but has become heightened after the recent disappearance and death of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee from Fishers.
Buzbee’s father, Beau Buzbee, testified in support of the tighter restrictions for teens and social media. He said that his own daughter was lured away from home by an online predator.
He urged lawmakers to take action now on the measure.
“We are losing the fight to protect our children,” Buzbee said on Monday. “The internet and social media are the devils and predators playgrounds, and it's on this front that we must fight.”
While lawmakers acknowledged that these changes might not have helped in Buzbee’s particular case, they are also considering changes to Indiana’s alert system for children who are missing and considered high risk.
Buzbee was reportedly speaking with an Ohio man, Tyler Thomas, through an online gaming app and continued to speak with him via an encrypted messaging app called “Session,” according to IndyStar.
The new language in the bill would create an age-verification process for anyone using social media. AI software would estimate a person’s age based on how they use their social media.
The program would analyze users' accounts over a period of time, and if it determines that a user might be 15 or younger, the account would be blocked unless a parent verifies the user’s age or gives their consent.
Indiana’s Secretary of Education, Katie Jenner, also testified in support of the measure, saying this will help children’s health but will also protect children’s online data from being sold.
“It's about giving kids time to grow, learn face to face communication and discover who they are before exposing them to platforms designed to exploit their vulnerabilities,” Jenner said.
If a teen gets the consent of their parents to have social media accounts, the platforms will also have to restrict certain features on those accounts, like:
- Only receive messages from linked (approved) accounts
- An account cannot appear in search results for people they don’t follow
- No algorithmic content recommendations
- No targeted advertising
- No addictive features (autoplay, infinite scroll, likes, live streaming, etc.)
It would also allow parents the ability to receive a separate password for their child’s social media accounts to monitor their usage, set daily and weekly time limits and set limits on the times of day their child can use the platforms.
These new restrictions could be enforced by the Indiana Attorney General who could bring a cause of action against providers through the state’s consumer protection division.
The bill heard lengthy and at some points emotional testimony, all in support of the social media restrictions for children. Various school leaders and law enforcement spoke in favor of the amendment.
Amy Klink, director of counseling at Guerin Catholic High School, said that she sees the harmful effects of social media on her students every day and has heard from parents and students who want ways to restrict use.
“Our parents are asking for help,” Klink said. “The children, in their own way, are asking for help, and I'm asking for help.”
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.