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State Rep. Jared Patterson stated he might be introducing laws throughout the subsequent session to forestall minors underneath 18 from utilizing social media in Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) took to Twitter Friday to announce he can be introducing laws to ban minors from utilizing social media in Texas.
“It’s long past time to recognize the incredible harm social media is doing to the mental health of young Texans,” Patterson wrote in a tweet Tuesday. “Next session, we put an end to it.”
The tweet was in response to an article shared by the Texas Public Policy Foundation arguing for the ban of minors from social media.
Patterson stated the thought for the brand new invoice got here from earlier than Tuesday, initially spurring from speaking with faculty officers following the mass taking pictures in Uvalde.
“I started a series of conversations with officials about schools safety–if you could wave a magic wand to solve a bunch of problems, what would it be? Almost every one of them said social media,” Patterson stated.
Patterson stated he thinks there wants to be a public dialog about social media, citing a rise in self-harm and suicides from 2007 to 2017, after the charges had truly been dropping prior to 2007.
“You’ve got more and more use of social media, and social media companies have AI and algorithms and teams of engineers and child psychologists they hire to figure out and develop ways to improve every single day how to hook kids and keep them on the product longer,” he stated.
Patterson in contrast social media use right now to minors smoking prior to the Surgeon General report on smoking in 1964, and stated he thinks one thing related will occur to social media within the coming years.
The invoice would come with all the massive names in social media–Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok. Similar payments launched in different states would come with any social media firm with multiple million customers.
Patterson stated he is not attempting to lock up children, however that penalties for social media firms could possibly be launched for focusing on kids to use their providers, related to the way it was made disadvantageous for cigarette firms to promote to children and placing warning labels on packs.
He burdened this isn’t his response to the Uvalde taking pictures and {that a} host of subjects associated to youngster security can be checked out subsequent session.
“We’re in a bad place right now and I think we’ve got to look at all the best options to protect kids,” he stated.
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story by The Texas Tribune Source link
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