Children could be banned from social media entirely if NC House bill passes
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Children in North Carolina could soon be banned from all social media if a bill in the House becomes law.
Sponsors say House Bill 301 is all about helping kids avoid the negative impacts of social media.
'The mental issues that kids are having, the anxiety, the suicide rates,' Representative Neal Jackson said.
'We have all kinds of things that we prevent our kids from doing, they can't drink until they're 21, they can't drive until they're 16, why do we do that? We do that to protect them. We're looking out for their best interest, this is looking out for their best interest,' Representative Jeff Zenger said.
The bill filed this week would ban anyone under the age of 14 from having any social media account and force the platforms to permanently delete existing accounts. Sponsors say platforms are generally compliant with laws like this and have followed similar laws in other states.
'Platforms are good about abiding to the law,' Representative Jackson said.
For teenagers 14 and 15 years old, the bill would require parental consent to have a social media account. Advocates of the bill say not only do they think social media free kids will have better social and mental health, but also better academic lives.
'These algorithms are harming attention spans for children, they are losing the ability to focus, they are losing the ability to do deep work, because their brains are literally being rewired,' Joseph Blackholm with the NC Values Coalition said.
Sponsors say they're already getting not only wide bipartisan support but strong support from parents too.
'Parents are just bombarded with things they have to watch out for and navigate with their kids and so what you hear from parents is this is such a hard battle,' Representative Zenger said.
'Kids under 14 would be so much better off if they were out in the woods hunting rabbits and on the ball field playing softball and baseball and in the creek catching salamanders than playing on their phones on social media,' Representative Jackson said.
The bill was referred to another committee on Thursday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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