The New York legislature passed a bill prohibiting social media companies from providing children with so-called “addictive feeds” without parental consent. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act specifies addictive feeds as those that prioritize exposure to content (using a recommendation engine, or other means) based on information collected about the user or device. “Non-addictive feeds,” in which the algorithm serves content in chronological order, are still permitted under the bill, which New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vowed to sign into law.

A separate but related bill, the New York Child Data Protection Act, will prohibit online sites from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18, “unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website,” according to an announcement from Hochul’s office.

The SAFE Act “calls for the establishment of acceptable age verification and parent consent methods,” to be determined by the office of the New York attorney general, currently headed by AG Letitia James, as part of the rulemaking once Hochul signs the bills and the legislation is enacted.

SAFE also prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications regarding addictive feeds to users under the age of 18 between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. without parental consent.

Companies found to violate the new laws will be subject to civil penalties of up to $5,000 per infraction under each of the provisions, SAFE and New York Child Data Protection.

“NetChoice, a trade group whose members include Google, Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram), and Snap (as well as TechCrunch’s parent company Yahoo), described the SAFE Act as ‘dangerous and unconstitutional,’” according to TechCrunch.

NetChoice VP and General Counsel Carl Szabo called it “an assault on free speech and the open Internet by the State of New York” in the group’s statement.

Applying sweeping laws on a statewide, as opposed to national, basis presents challenges for tech platforms. In its own response, Meta said, “while we don’t agree with every aspect of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores,” adding it will “continue to work with policymakers in New York and elsewhere to advance this approach,” per TechCrunch.

In related news, Bloomberg reports a California state judge ruled last week in favor of Meta, Snap, TikTok and other social media firms by dismissing “hundreds of lawsuits brought by school districts seeking to recover costs for addressing the negative impacts of students’ social media use.”

Related:
We’re About to Glimpse Life on the Other Side of Algorithms, Fast Company, 6/7/24
An Anonymous-Messaging App Upended This High School, The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/24