Bill > H4591

This bill, called the Stop Harm from Addictive Social Media (SHASM) Act, aims to protect minors and children from potentially harmful social media platform practices by establishing comprehensive age verification, consent, and usage restrictions for covered social media platforms (defined as platforms generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue). The legislation requires platforms to estimate users' ages, obtain verifiable parental consent for accounts held by minors, and implement strict default privacy settings for child accounts. Specifically, platforms must use reasonable efforts to determine a user's age, prohibit addictive interface features like infinite scrolling and auto-play videos for child accounts, and prevent profile-based commercial advertising targeting children. The bill provides mechanisms for parents to monitor and limit their children's social media usage, including setting time limits and accessing usage reports. Platforms must allow minors and parents to request account termination, and the law establishes a private right of action for children and parents who believe a platform has violated these provisions, with potential damages ranging from declaratory relief to statutory damages of up to $10,000 for knowing or reckless violations. The law applies to social media platforms with significant annual revenues and seeks to create a more protective online environment for minors by addressing potential mental health and addiction risks associated with social media use.

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https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4591&session=126&summary=B