A Democratic-led House committee on Wednesday by a 6-4 party-line vote rejected legislation that would have required social media applications like TikTok and Instagram to stop letting kids use their platforms when they’re supposed to be sleeping.
House Bill 562, sponsored by Del. Ellen Campbell, R-Rockbridge County, would have made it mandatory for providers to restrict access to their platforms for children and youth under the age of 18 — without parental approval — between midnight and 6 a.m. Companies found in violation of the law would have been held liable for civil damages if their app was found to have interfered with a minor’s sleep cycle or mental health.
“On a typical weekday, almost one third of adolescents report to use screen time after midnight, with social media applications being the most commonly used,” Campbell told members of a House Communications Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation.
Campbell cited an advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who last summer warned of the risks of social media usage for youth’s mental health — including sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety. The data that led to this warning comes largely from research linking social media use to outcomes in adolescence.
According to the report, adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes. One 2021 survey of teenagers found that, on average, they spend 3.5 hours a day on social media.
Social media may also perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls, the report said. One-third or more of girls aged 11 to 15 say they feel “addicted” to certain social media platforms and over half of teenagers report that it would be hard to give up social media.
“We know that sleep quality is crucial for the health and development of adolescents. Insufficient sleep has been associated with altered neurological development among adolescents, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” Campbell told the panel.
The 24/7 availability of social media is depriving students of much of their needed rest that prevents them from learning at schools, Campbell added. “It’s especially for our younger students [because] this can really set them on the wrong academic path.”
Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper County and a member of the committee who is known for his active social media presence, called Campbell’s proposal a step in “a positive direction.”
“Obviously there is a significant concern with respect to the influence that social media has along with other platforms, especially during formative years when kids are looking at this stuff and probably should be sleeping,” Freitas said, adding that he was “a little concerned” with how some of the enforcement mechanisms of the legislation would work, “but these concerns could be addressed.”
Speaking in support of the bill, Del. Mark Earley, R-Chesterfield County, also a member of the panel, said that the extreme social media use among adolescents was highly concerning. “To be frank, this kind of stuff is eating our kids alive, and we got to do something about it,” he said.
Janet Vestal Kelly, a former secretary of the commonwealth and until recently a special advisor to the governor, focused on children’s mental health and child welfare, warned the committee that social media companies on their own won’t add additional layers of protection for minors to their apps unless being forced by law.
“They may say that they want to change things themselves, but the reality is that they can’t, their entire business model is built on keeping our attention, and our kids’ attention, and our addiction,” Kelly said. “They have a duty to their shareholders, not our kids. Parents have a duty to our kids, but many are outsmarted, including me, by our own children. Legislators have a duty to act in the best interest of our commonwealth, and I can’t think of a more compelling interest.”
But while Democrats on the panel said they understood the concern, they remained skeptical about reining in social media companies.
“I believe in freedom of speech and we should not target social media,” said Del. Marty Martinez, D-Loudoun County. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like what I see on the Internet, but when we start talking about regulating children’s time, where are the parents in this equation? We need to look at the parents more and how we can get them to understand that this is more their responsibility to regulate what their children look at and when they should stop.”
And Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax County, said that she had “significant concerns” regarding the enforceability of Campbell’s proposal, “particularly when we consider that it may be the parent that is not putting forward appropriate limitations.”
Freitas countered that although there already are mechanisms available allowing parents to control their children’s access to certain apps at particular times, a generational gap often puts them at a disadvantage.
“The kids often turn out a lot more technologically literate than their parents. Over time that might shift, but we are in a situation where even though these mechanisms exist, a lot of times the parents don’t know how to access them. I see this just as an additional level of precaution,” he said.
Campbell’s legislation, Freitas added, would require social media companies to provide access points where users have to provide additional information in order to use the app at all times. “There are parents who do want to limit screen time, but they still want their child to have a phone, and when that child is out there they might download a particular app, they might access something, and by providing this additional level of security, I do think we can provide an additional tool that is probably necessary at this point.”
Democrats, however, remained unconvinced that Campbell’s measure would work as intended, particularly because children often manage to outsmart their parents when it comes to internet technology.
“Parents do need tools to assist in raising their children to the best of their abilities, but as soon as you come up with one guardrail, there’s another workaround, and they are finding out how to do it,” said Del. Michael Jones, D-Richmond.
“At some point we can’t legislate parents’ parenting. Although I believe the impact is real, I don’t know if putting up another workaround or a firewall for a teenager to figure out and share on social media how to get around it is necessarily the answer.”
Instead, Jones suggested a tried-and-tested approach: “At some point just take the phone, give them the old Nokia, get rid of the smartphone,” he said.