
Would the United States Ever Ban Child Social Media Use?
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new study revealed how many American adults support the idea of a social media ban for users under the age of 16.
Fifty-nine percent of American adults polled stated their support for a ban, with the majority of respondents opposed coming from the 18-34 age group. While there are currently no federal bills proposing a social media ban for minors, the idea is not so farfetched, especially after the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, called for a Surgeon General’s warning for the havoc social media causes on developing brains.
“It is time to require a Surgeon General’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” Murthy said in June. “A Surgeon General’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been prove[n] safe.”
“The warning label I’m calling for is one part of a larger set of strategies that we need to put in place to, not only warn parents about these harms but ultimately make social media safer for kids,” Murthy later told Fox News.
At the state level, lawmakers have already responded to the call, with California restricting cell phone usage in schools, following a precedent set by Florida the year before.
READ MORE: LAWMAKERS MOVE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT
With support for a ban coming from both experts and the majority of American adults, there is a real possibility that federal lawmakers will begin considering a ban. A ban, however, would be tricky to pull off as defining what counts as social media can be a difficult task.
Australia passed a nationwide law in November banning users under 16 from accessing social media. While sites like TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, X and Reddit were all labeled as social media, YouTube was not. This distinction heavily impacts the business capabilities of these sites and could provide an unfair advantage to any site able to dodge the label.
Nonetheless, federal lawmakers aren’t afraid to come after big tech, proven by the passing of a bill that will ban TikTok for any user within the U.S. starting in January. Americans have yet to see the ban actualized as the Supreme Court will consider if the ban violates the First Amendment just days before it is set to take place.
READ MORE: TIKTOK MAKES A FINAL EFFORT TO AVOID U.S. BAN