A bill passed by the Louisiana State Legislature that bans minors from creating social media accounts without parental consent is the latest in a string of legal measures that take aim at the online world to combat a perceived mental health crisis among America’s youth. Utah also recently passed a law requiring consent of a parent or guardian when anyone under 18 wants to create a social account. And California now mandates some sites default to the highest privacy for minor accounts. The Louisiana legislation stands out as extremely restrictive, encompassing multiplayer games and video-sharing apps.

Quartz calls the Louisiana bill “shockingly broad,” saying it bans all “‘interactive computer services’ or services where users have to make a personal account.” That would seem to include “email accounts, video games, delivery services, and popular social media like Facebook and Instagram,” according to Quartz.

Presumably, as with the laws in other states, Louisiana will require tech companies to demand some sort of official identification — like a driver’s license, college ID or passport — when people seek to create online accounts.

“It would also allow Louisiana parents to cancel the terms-of-service contracts that their children signed for existing accounts on popular services like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Fortnite and Roblox,” reports The New York Times, noting “the Louisiana civil code already allows parents to rescind contracts signed by unemancipated minors.”

Republican State Representative Laurie Schlegel, who spearheaded the proposed law, says it merely clarifies existing Louisiana contracting rules as they apply to online content-sharing platforms.

The regulatory momentum circumscribing Internet use for minors follows last month’s warning by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy claiming social media and other online activity poses a “profound risk” to the mental health of teens and youth. But First Amendment activists are already attacking the rulemaking, saying it is an illegal infringement on free speech.

NetChoice VP Carl Szabo is among those calling on Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to veto the bill, saying it “violates First Amendment rights, takes away parental rights for their families and requires massive data collection on all Louisiana citizens.”

Arkansas, Ohio, New Jersey and Texas are among the states that either passed laws or are entertaining bills to restrict the online activity of minors.

A recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal proposed 16 as the minimum age at which children should be allowed to use social media and other online accounts, opining “the bad seems to outweigh the good for younger teens,” and taking issue with the fact that current law allows “allow anyone 13 and older” to download apps.

Related:
New York City Takes On the Social Media Crisis, MediaPost, 6/13/23
No One Knows Exactly What Social Media Is Doing to Teens, The Atlantic, 6/13/23
Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents, The New York Times, 5/23/23