Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) are leading a group of bipartisan senators reintroducing a bill that would limit kids’ social media use by setting a minimum age for users and restricting access to the sites in schools.
Schatz originally introduced a version of the legislation, called the Kids Off Social Media Act, in spring 2023. It would set the minimum age for online social media users to 13 years old, and prevent platforms from “feeding algorithmically-boosted content” to users under 17.
Users under 18 must have parental permission to use apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat under the bill.
“There is no good reason for a nine-year-old to be on Instagram or TikTok. There just isn’t. The growing evidence is clear: social media is making kids more depressed, more anxious, and more suicidal,” Schatz said in a statement. “This is an urgent health crisis, and Congress must act.”
The bill will include components of legislation Cruz previously introduced, called the Eyes on the Board Act, which would block social media apps and websites on public school computers and networks, just as they currently block access to pornography and obscenity.
“Every parent with a young child or a teenage either worries about, or knows first-hand, the real harms and dangers of addicted and anxiety-inducing social media,” Cruz said in a statement. “Parents know there’s no good reason for a child to be doom-scrolling or binge-watching reels that glorify unhealthy lifestyles.”
