Latest news with #HB186
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas bill banning social media for minors fails to pass
The Brief A Texas bill (HB 186) to ban social media for users under 18 failed to pass the state legislature. Critics of the bill argue that an age requirement is an invasion of the privacy of adult users. Patterson says he will bring up the bill again in 2027. AUSTIN, Texas - A bill that would have banned children under 18 from using social media in Texas did not pass the state legislature. House Bill 186, filed by state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), was not brought up for a key vote ahead of the end of the legislative session on Monday. Dig deeper House Bill 186 would have required social media companies to verify a user's age when they sign up for an account. Under the bill, social media companies would be required to delete a child's account at the request of a parent or guardian. Companies that do not verify age or do not remove accounts could face penalties from the Texas Attorney General's Office. Violations would be sent to the Consumer Protection Division as a deceptive trade practice. Rep. Patterson called social media the "modern-day cigarette", citing its addictive nature. He also cited recent increases in self-harm and suicide rates for teens, which he believes is connected to the rise of social media. HB 186 passed the Texas House by a 116-25 vote in April. It was not brought to the full Senate. The other side Critics of the bill argue that it's an invasion of the privacy of adult users. A similar bill in Utah was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in 2024. The judge cited concerns about the bill violating the First Amendment. Tech companies, including Elon Musk's X, have established a presence in Texas. What they're saying "HB 186 is - by far - the biggest disappointment of my career," wrote Patterson on social media. "There was no bill filed this session that would have protected more kids in more ways than this one. HB 186 failing to pass this session means I've failed these kids and their families. At least for now. It's devastating, but I'm not done, not by a long shot. My purpose in being here, in this body and with this awesome responsibility, is to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. Even against billionaires and their tactics." Patterson says he plans to file a similar bill in 2027. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a different bill to limit children's access to some applications online. Senate Bill 2420 is also known as the App Store Accountability Act. Under the law, app store operators like Google and Apple will be required to verify the age of users in Texas and get parental consent from parents before allowing minors to download an app. Apple CEO Tim Cook called Abbott and asked him to change or veto the bill, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The Source Information on House Bill 186 comes from the Texas Legislature and social media posts from Rep. Jared Patterson.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill that would have banned Texas minors from social media misses key deadline
A bill that would have banned minors from having a social media account has missed a deadline to pass in the Texas Senate. House Bill 186, filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, sailed through the House 116-25 in May, but never received a vote in the Senate several days after a slew of teenagers spoke against it during a Senate committee hearing. The contents of the bill could still be attached to another as an amendment or as part of a budget stipulation, but it is unlikely this late into the legislative session, which ends Monday. The proposal, the most far-reaching of the bills filed to address online dangers this session, would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites, such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and more, and require users to verify their ages. Companies would have to comply with the ban by April 2026. The bill would also allow parents to request the deletion of their child's existing social media account, and a company must comply within 10 days. The potential failure of the social media ban for minors comes as a surprise, considering Texas lawmakers have made regulating social media a priority this legislative session. Gov. Greg Abbott has already signed Senate Bill 2420, which restricts children from downloading apps, into law and emphasized his support of protecting children's online presence. 'Safety and online privacy for Texas children remains a priority for Governor Abbott, which is why he signed SB 2420 into law. Texas will empower parents to have more control over the online content their children can access,' said Andrew Mahaleris, his press secretary, when asked about Abbott's support of HB 186. Under HB 186, any website that allows users to curate and create content is considered a social media website and is cut off from minors. News and sports websites will be safe. Lawmakers are also considering House Bill 499, by Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, which would require social media platforms to have a warning label about the association between a minor's social media usage and significant mental health issues. As of June 2024, 10 states, including Texas, have passed laws restricting children's access to social media, according to the Age Verification Providers Association. Studies show that 95% of youth aged 13 to 17 report using social media, with more than a third stating they use social media 'almost constantly.' Two years ago, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Psychological Association, among other national organizations, called out social media platforms for undermining classroom learning, increasing costs for school systems, and being a 'root cause' of the nationwide youth mental health crisis. Several social media platforms and application management companies have noted that the state's measures to protect children are too far-reaching and will have an impact beyond their intended scope. An Apple spokesperson said that while they share the goal of strengthening kids' online safety, the current proposals coming out of Texas will require them to retain sensitive, personally identifiable information for every Texan who wants to download an app. Most social media platforms and online applications ask for age verification before signing up, but Texas is looking for more intensive measures, according to the Age Verification Providers Association, such as requiring a license or outright banning minors until they can prove they are older than 16 or 18. Congress is considering the Kids Online Safety Act, which does not require app marketplaces to collect and keep sensitive data, such as passports or driver's licenses, from all users to verify age. Apple supports the federal legislation's approach over Texas'. The outright ban on social media for minors has also garnered criticism from many on social media, including prominent conservative accounts such as Ian Miles Cheong, Laura Loomer, and Libs of TikTok, who have denounced the bill for excluding video games from the ban completely and for leaving a loophole open for video applications like YouTube and TikTok due to the bill's wording. 'Let people parent their children how they see fit. Parents are more than capable of controlling their children's screen time. Stop nanny state legislation. This is what Democrats do, not Republicans,' said Loomer in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The social media ban, even if passed via another bill, is expected to face challenges in court, as some argue that it violates the First Amendment. 'It's going too far. It's sweeping adult speech into it without realizing that by adding an unnecessary hurdle, it affects everyone,' said Kathleen Farley, a First Amendment lawyer for the Washington, D.C.-based Chamber of Progress. She said that, just like video games, social media, and online applications already have a voluntary ratings system that parents can access before any minor can access a website or application, and anything more stringent is usually considered too broad a restriction for the courts. 'I think all of this shows a need for people to be better educated on the current parental controls that exist in app stores. There are already ratings and ways to prevent children from downloading certain apps,' she said. 'The fact that this legislation is being pushed is either that people don't know about it, or it's too hard to use.' Disclosure: Apple and Facebook have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'The modern-day cigarette': Texas House bill would ban kids from social media
A bipartisan majority of the Texas House is seeking to crack down on social media use by minors. House Bill 186 filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would prohibit Texas children from using social media and would require platforms to delete accounts of children at the request of a parent. It would also mandate social media companies to verify that new users are over 18. The House passed the bill by a 116-25 vote Wednesday. The bill's author cited a recent Pew study linking social media use to rising rates of mental health issues among teens, and he has called social media "the most dangerous product legally accessible to Texas kids." "I believe that this is the modern-day cigarette," Patterson said during debate on the bill. "I think that we're going to wake up at some point in this country and realize what we have done to an entire generation of kids that are on this highly addictive product called social media." Under the proposal, social media companies such as Instagram, TikTok and X could face penalties under Texas' deceptive trade practices statutes if they fail to comply. Critics of the bill said its requirement for companies to verify social media users' ages — likely through uploading a photo ID — would affect adults in addition to minors. Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said privacy concerns and fears of data breaches could chill online political discourse. "If somebody wants to, let's say for the purposes of political speech, they want to create an anonymous account or a parody account … they would not be able to create those accounts unless they put in their personal information and verify it," Wu said. Patterson argued that social media companies already know more about their users than is contained on a driver's license and noted that the bill requires companies to delete data after verifying users' ages. Other opponents, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy group, argue that the bill infringes on the rights of children and their parents. "Minors have First Amendment rights, including the right to receive the vast majority of content on social media, as well as the right to use it for speech of their own," Ari Cohn, FIRE's lead counsel for tech policy, said in a statement. "And not only does the bill violate the First Amendment rights of minors, but it may well infringe on parental rights to raise their own children as they see fit." The House on Tuesday also passed HB 499 by Rep. Mary Gonzales, D-Clint, which would require social platforms to display a warning about the links between social media use and mental health concerns in children. Both bills have been advanced to the Senate, where they are expected to garner support. If passed in the upper chamber and signed by the governor, HB 186 would take effect Jan. 1, 2026. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas House bill would ban kids from social media
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas House passes bill banning minors from creating social media accounts
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas is setting itself up to be a leader in regulating the social media sphere. Today, the Texas House passed a bill 116-25 that would prohibit children from using social media. House Bill 186 requires a strict verification process to ensure account holders are at least 18 years old. 'I firmly believe that social media is the most harmful product that our kids have legal access to in Texas,' said Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, the bill's author. Patterson said HB 186 is the most important one he will lay out this session, citing rising rates of self-harm and suicide amongst minors linked to social media use. Patterson previously cited a study conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate in 2022. Researchers created a social media account posing as a 13-year-old user, and interacted with content related to body image and mental health issues. Within 2.6 minutes, content related to suicide was recommended. Within eight minutes, content related to eating disorders was shown. READ MORE: Education commissioner calls for cellphone ban in Texas schools 'ER visits are up, anorexia amongst girls are up, pornography addiction and aggression amongst boys up,' said Patterson. 'It is our kids killing themselves at a clip that we've never seen before in the history of the state of Texas, and it's all correlated back to this rapid rise in social media use for young people.' Right before the vote, Patterson dedicated his bill to those who took their own lives after dealing with social media addiction. 'In honor of David Molak and the countless other children who have lost their lives due to the harms of social media,' Patterson said. Maurine Molak, David's mother, has spent the last nine years advocating nationally and in Texas for stricter reforms. 'I lost my son David to suicide nine years ago after he was cyber bullied for months by a group of students on Instagram that were tormenting him,' Molak said. 'I was very moved at [Patterson's] thoughtfulness in remembering David and the pain that David went through.' Some opponents of the bill feel the verification process will give social media companies too much information. 'What about the concern that this is helping these social media companies collect even more data on us,' State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, asked Patterson. Patterson said he's concerned about even more data being collected for minors who use social media. He warned that harvesting data from young users is a privacy concern, and is used for targeted advertising and exploitative purposes. 'Social media companies know more about you than you know about yourself,' Patterson said. 'Their business is not in connecting people so that they can chat and share cat memes. Their business is data collection.' HB 186 requires that any personal information obtained for verification must be deleted immediately after the process. Others voiced concerns about the rights of children. 'We believe this law is clearly unconstitutional,' attorney Brian Klosterboer with the Texas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said. 'HB 186 would ban all social media use by anyone under the age of 18, even if someone's parent or guardian wants them to be able to use social media. For example, a lot of young people might be in youth groups or clubs or organizations that connect on social media. They might use social media for research, even to access, maybe tweets from government officials or academic researchers. All of that would be banned under this bill.' However, Patterson believes social media is too harmful to not regulate. 'The U.S. Surgeon General came out in 2024 [and] compared this to cigarettes, the addictive nature of these products,' he said. 'So it's something that I'm going to continue to fight until we finally get something done on this issue.' In addition, the bill would empower Texas's attorney general to hold social media platforms accountable if they allow underage users. It also grants parents the right to request the removal of their child's existing social media account by contacting the platform directly. Upon receiving the request, the platform must delete the account within 10 days. Last session, the legislature passed a bill banning minors from viewing explicit or pornographic content online, enacting a similar age verification process. It also held commercial entities liable if they failed to perform age verification. Patterson believes that banning sites with primarily explicit content is not enough to protect their mental health. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas House Bill 186 could block minors from using social media. See where the bill stands
Social media companies could face strict penalties from Texas lawmakers if House Bill 186 becomes law. On Tuesday, the House voted 125-20 in favor of HB 186. The bill now goes to the Senate. Here is what you need to know about HB 186. HB 186 proposes that tech companies, like Meta, X and Snapchat, verify users' ages when they create social media accounts. Introduced by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, the bill is now in the stage where it will be finalized for Senate review. Patterson said social media has had harmful effects on children. 'Social media companies don't care about what content they're feeding you and your children,' Patterson said. 'Rather, they want you hooked on their content.' If HB186 is enacted, social media companies will be required to remove a child's account if requested by a parent or guardian, according to the bill. The social media company must delete the account within 10 days of receiving the request. Failure to verify user age, permitting underage children to access the platform, misusing personal data, or neglecting to delete accounts could result in penalties from the Texas attorney general's Consumer Protection Division. The bill does not specify exact penalties. Instead, it defers to existing statutes, which grant the attorney general the authority to take action, including imposing financial penalties. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Proposed Texas bill will prevent minors from using social media
