NY Governor Signs Bill to Curb Social Media Addiction

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill aimed at protecting children and teeneagers from "addictive" algorithmic content'' in social media without parental consent.

New York state lawmakers passed the legislation which has a companion bill to restrict online sites from collecting and selling the personal data of underage users.

Before signing, Hochul said other states should take an example from the bill, as she ruled out waiting for the federal government to take action.

"The damaging effect of social media's addictive algorithms is weaponized to use children's personal information, extracting millions of data points about their preferences, what they want to do, where they're going. They use all this to hold them captive to a barrage of unsolicited images and messages, and that must be stopped right now," she added.

Social media companies such as Meta Platforms whose platforms include Facebook and Instagram, could take a hit to their revenues.

Supporters of the legislation pointed to a recent Harvard University study that found the six largest social media platforms generated $11 billion from advertising to minors in 2022.

State's Attorney General Letitia James said the bill would target "addictive feeds", "bombardment of notifications" and "the tracking and pedaling of private information of children."

The industry association NetChoice condemned the legislation, calling it in a statement an "assault on free speech and the open internet" by "forcing websites to censor all content unless visitors provide an ID to verify their age."

The organization said it had successfully challenged similar measures from three other states in court as unconstitutional.