Can Using Social Media Become Illegal?

Social media outlets continue to be under fire.

The state of Arizona recently banned TikTok from state-owned devices.

Last year, the federal government did the same thing.

And now, Utah has become the first state in the U.S. to pass legislation aimed at limiting social media use by teens.

The new laws apply to social media platforms with at least 5 million accounts, which include popular platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The impending legislation calls for:

• Parental consent before kids can sign up for social media sites.
• Age verification for any social media user in the state.
• Children are prohibited from using social media from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
• Tech companies cannot use addictive design features.

Utah’s new statutes aren’t supposed to take effect until about this time next year.  There is likely to be a court battle over these regulations, as free speech advocates claim that the Utah social media laws violate the First Amendment. There’s also the whole issue of how to actually enforce the regulations, especially if someone is in the privacy of their own home.

Social media is not going away – even if lawmakers continue trying to make it harder for some to access.