Bill > SB611

This bill amends the Social Media Safety Act to strengthen protections for minors on social media platforms in Arkansas. The bill lowers the age of a minor from 18 to 16 and requires social media platforms to implement several key safeguards. These include ensuring platforms do not use addictive design features that might compel minors to engage compulsively, automatically disabling non-essential notifications between 10 PM and 6 AM, setting privacy settings to the most protective level by default, and conducting quarterly audits to prevent addiction-driven behavior. The bill mandates that platforms create an easily accessible online dashboard for parents to monitor and restrict their children's platform usage. Additionally, the bill increases potential penalties for non-compliance, raising fines from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation, and allows both the Attorney General and parents to bring civil actions against platforms that violate these rules. The bill also establishes a new Crimes Against Children Fund, which will receive monetary penalties from these violations, and requires social media platforms to implement technological measures to prevent minors from circumventing age verification protocols. These provisions aim to protect young users from potential online harm and give parents more control over their children's social media access.

Business and Industry

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=sb611&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R