An end to kids’ doom scrolling? Nevada aims to restrict social media

Nevada legislators are considering a bill aimed at protecting children on the internet, though opponents say it goes too far.

Senate Bill 63, called the Nevada Youth Online Safety Act, puts into place restrictions on a child’s use of social media. It prohibits digital platforms from using their personal information in an algorithmic recommendation system and prohibits the platforms from collecting and processing children’s personal data.

It also restricts the times in which the platform can send notifications to children, such as at night or during school hours, and gives parents the ability to request additional restrictions.

On Tuesday, the legislation passed the Nevada Senate on party lines and moved to the Assembly. It is scheduled for a Friday hearing in the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor.

Part of state fight against social media companies

The legislation is the brainchild of the Nevada attorney general’s office, which has been fighting social media companies through litigation. Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office filed lawsuits against Meta, TikTok and Snapchat, alleging their algorithms have been designed to deliberately addict youth.

Litigation is ongoing, but SB63 serves as a parallel effort his office is taking to protect children online, Ford said during a bill hearing in early May.

“Platforms are designed to be addictive, keeping kids locked into an endless cycle of comparison, validation and exposure to content that can be toxic,” Ford said. “Social media platforms and other digital platforms are built by design to keep people, especially impressionable young people, engaged as long as possible.”

The more time users stay on a platform, the more data companies collect and the more money those companies make, Ford said. His bill seeks to curb that corporate malfeasance, he said.

The Democratic attorney general also said that his office deals daily with cases involving child predators, who are more often using online platforms to groom and exploit children. He hopes the bill will make it harder for predators to connect with children.

Safeguards vs. overreach

Ford’s bill was met with support from some teenagers who shared their stories of friends they lost after online bullying, and from parents who said they liked the extra safeguards.

Reno resident Bethany Farris said her 11-year-old daughter died by suicide in August 2024, and she had looked up how to kill herself on a social media app. Farris wasn’t aware of what all her daughter was watching, she said.

“There needs to be something that helps other mothers who don’t lose their babies, so that kids can’t look that up,” Farris said.

But there were many in opposition, including social media companies, the ACLU of Nevada, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and an LGBTQ organization. They argued the bill would limit young people’s access to online communities, place burdens on small businesses and risk restricting the youth’s First Amendment rights.

Much of the opposition focused on provisions that would require age verification to use social media platforms as well as parental consent for minors, but those aspects have since been removed from the legislation.

Jennifer Hanley, North American head of safety policy at Meta, said the bill undermines companies’ existing safety efforts, and she described Meta’s Instagram teen accounts, which include restrictions such as a 60-minute daily limit and a sleep mode that limits notifications at night.

“SB63 would impact our ability to provide personalized experiences to teens, which is an important aspect to keeping them safe online,” Hanley said. “By working together we can create solutions that balance safety while also still providing teens with meaningful online experiences.”

Details of the bill

SB63, as amended, requires TikTok and Facebook and other digital platforms to disable features on a minor’s account at the request of the parent or guardian, such as infinite scrolling, metric displays, auto-play videos and livestreaming.

“No more doom-scrolling,” Ford said.

Platforms would be prohibited from sending minors notifications on school days between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from midnight until 6 a.m. They’d also prohibit digital platforms from collecting and processing personal data of children for the purposes of providing targeted advertising and selling their data.

It also prohibits the platform from collecting a child’s geolocation data, unless it is reasonably necessary. If it is reasonably necessary, the platform must indicate that such data collection is occurring.

Some digital platforms are exempt from the bill, such as email sites, health care platforms and educational websites approved by schools.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.