Indiana Bill Would Ban Children Under 16 From Using Social Media
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A new bill in Indiana seeks to ban minors under the age of 16 from using social media without parental consent.
Senate Bill 11, authored by Republican Sen. Mike Bohacek, would require a social media operator like Facebook or TikTok to restrict a minor from accessing the site if they did not receive “verifiable parental consent” from the minor’s parent. It would be up to the individual social media sites to choose a mechanism to prove parental permission.
“We’re telling (the social media sites) what we want. How they do it is up to them,” said Bohacek, who authored the bill requiring age verification for pornographic sites last year.
The bill allows the Attorney General to pursue legal action against social media sites if they do not comply.
“A parent says, ‘Hey, look, I’ve got a problem, my kid is on social media, I didn’t approve it’, and then the social media operator won’t disable the account, well, now they’re in violation,” Bohacek said.
Social media sites in violation would have 90 days to fix the problem. But several Senate Democrats said they’re concerned the bill could infringe on the constitutional rights of thousands of Hoosiers.
Five senators voted against Senate Bill 11, which advanced on a 42-7 vote: Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville; Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis; Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis; Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg; and Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton.
