The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing a number of age verification measures today for on-line content, including Senate Bill 180, to require age verification before an individual may access an application from an online application store. Attached is the prepared joint testimony from industry leaders META, Snap, Inc, and X:
Meta’s Director of Youth Safety Policy, Nicole Lopez, will testify in person during the South Dakota Senate Judiciary hearing in support of Senate Bill (SB) 180, a bill that would require app stores to verify age and get parental approval before children can download apps.
During the hearing, Lopez will discuss the legislative proposal aimed at empowering parents and protecting teens online, address opposition arguments, and answer committee member questions. A written copy of Nicole’s oral testimony will be made available after.
Additional Info:
- Meta has been calling for legislation that would require parental consent at the app store-level for teens under 16 to download an app – learn more here and here.
- In September 2024, Meta introduced Instagram Teen Accounts, a new experience for teens, guided by parents. Instagram Teen Accounts have built-in protections which limit who can contact them and the content they see, and also provide new ways to safely explore their interests. Instagram will automatically place teens into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict. You can learn more about Instagram Teen Accounts in the Meta Newsroom post HERE.
- Nicole Lopez also testified at a hearing before the South Dakota Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Regulation of Internet Access by Minors in October 2024. You can find the meeting notes and audio of that hearing here, as well as Nicole’s formal letter to Committee Chairs here.