NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers in the House and Senate have passed a bill aimed at preventing children from making social media accounts. HB 1891 was introduced by Rep. William Lamberth (R - Portland). It passed the House of Representatives on March 25, and it passed in the Senate on April 8.
It's otherwise known as the "Protecting Children from Social Media Act." The bill requires social media companies to verify the age of users before they make an account, to make sure they are not under 18 years old or emancipated. If minors try to make an account, social media companies would be required to verify that their parents consent to creating the account.
The bill also said if an account was made before social media companies start verifying user ages, then companies would need to verify the user's age within 14 days after they try to access an account.
The bill also does not allow social media companies to hold onto personally identifying information used to verify age or parental consent. The bill also requires social media companies to provide ways for parents to supervise minors' accounts, such as with daily time restrictions or privacy settings.
The bill allows the state Attorney General to investigate companies that could be in violation of the bill and bring action against them.
The bill does not include a specific way companies would be required to verify user ages. Lawmakers in the House said the bill deliberately leaves it up to companies to decide how they would verify user ages.
"They have to come up with a mechanism that shows a reasonable effort to ensure that parents have given that consent," said Rep. Jake McCalmon (R - Franklin) on the House floor. "The Attorney General does not get involved unless the parents of a child wants to bring action against those companies."
He also said similar legislation had been passed in other states. It passed the House and Senate with largely bipartisan support. Lawmakers voted 29-0 to approve it in the Senate, and 88-2 in the House. It is now headed to Governor Bill Lee's desk.
"There's a healthy tension that exists with this legislation. I definitely want parents to be involved in their children's lives when it comes to social media. I think we were just talking earlier, about the number of suicides ... and the number of suicides and social media, and the correlation, is quite scary," said Rep. Justin Pearson (D - Memphis) on the House floor.
If it becomes law, the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.