Bill to ban social media for some teens advances in NC senate

State lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill that would ban social media for some North Carolina teenagers.

House Bill 301 would prohibit social media platforms from allowing anyone 13 years or old and younger from having a social media account and require the social media companies to delete any accounts already held by those children. Children who are 14 and 15 years old would need parent or guardian consent to open an account. Any current accountholders who are that age would need to obtain permission from their parent or guardian or their account would be terminated by the social media company.

House Bill 301 has already passed the House. 

The Senate’s education committee on Wednesday added language to the bill before voting to give it a favorable report and sending it to a Senate judiciary committee. Under the new language, the state Board of Education would be required to update its computer science standards to include instruction on the use of artificial intelligence. It would also require the state Department of Public Instruction to partner with N.C. State University’s William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation to develop AI training requirements for educators. 

The companies that own social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram already commonly require accountholders to be 13 years old -- one year younger than the bill would allow. Lawmakers are concerned because of the ease some children younger than 13 have had in creating accounts, as well as perceived harms of social media use on young people.

The bill would fine social media companies up to $50,000 for each time a younger teen sets up an account against the law's provisions. Families of those children, under the bill, could sue companies for the violation, up to $10,000.