COLUMBUS — Ohio’s new social media law will go into effect one week from today.
>> NEW DEVELOPMENT: Federal judge temporarily blocks Ohio’s new social media parental consent law
It will force social media platforms to get consent from parents before most children can create a social media account.
News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson explained how this new law, the Social Media Notification Act, will work during News Center 7′s Daybreak.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Group representing Meta, TikTok sues Ohio over new law limiting kids’ use of social media
The new law will make social media platforms get formal consent from parents of kids under the age of 16 who want to sign up for a social media account.
It applies to operators of an online website, service, or product that targets children or is reasonably anticipated to be accessed by kids.
Robertson says Lt. Governor Jon Husted pushed for this new law. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said this new law aims to give parents more control over their children creating new social media accounts.
>>RELATED: Minors will soon need parental consent to create social media accounts
News Center 7 previously spoke with some people here in the area about how they feel about this new law.
Caleb Copeland, 17, told News Center 7 that he thinks parents should monitor their kids more online.
“Just make sure parents look over and make sure the kids being safe while they’re doing it and stuff,” he said.
Sarah Black lives in Dayton and has young grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“They know the button in terms of YouTube and Tik Tok and they can just punch buttons and you know any, and everything can come up on the system,” she told our Brandon Lewis. “So, I totally, totally agree with that, to maintain that control, not in a negative sense, but to have an awareness of what they’re being exposed to.”
The new law does not apply to any accounts created before Jan. 15.
>> ORIGINAL COVERAGE: Ohio proposal would require verified parental consent before kids can use social media
News Center 7 previously reported that Netchoice, representing both Meta and TikTok, has filed a lawsuit against the State of Ohio asking the court to stop the law from going into effect.
The group claims that the law violates constitutional rights and rips away parents’ authority, Netchoice said on social media.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted released a statement in response to the lawsuit:
“This lawsuit is cowardly but not unexpected. The law simply requires parental consent before children under the age of 16 sign up on social media and other online platforms. In filing this lawsuit, these companies are determined to go around parents to expose children to harmful content and addict them to their platforms. These companies know that they are harming our children with addictive algorithms with catastrophic health and mental health outcomes. Research has been very clear about what spending excessive time on these platforms is doing to our kids; they are struggling in school, being bullied, their sleep is being disturbed, they are dealing with body image issues, and much more. They need to drop this lawsuit so that we can move forward with the Social Media Parental Notification Act that makes parents part of the equation.”
More information about the law can be found here.