American state preparing to ban social media for anyone under 18 in move that could 'rewrite online childhood'
An American state has shocked the country after it announced that it is preparing to put a blanket ban on social media into effect for anyone under the age of 18.
It’s a move by Texas that is being said could completely ‘rewrite online childhood’.
The bill has been introduced by the Texas Senate committee and is due to be voted on by the State Senate.
If it passes, every person under the age of 18 will be effectively banned from using social media until they reach adulthood.
Advert
This would be achieved by enforcing social media platforms to verify the ages of people setting up new accounts.
The bill has until next Monday (June 2) to be approved by the Senate and the governor.
This isn’t the first time that the bill has been mentioned after it passed through the House committee stage earlier this year and was then voted in favor of by the Texas House of Representatives.
This comes after Florida placed a ban on anyone under the age of 14 from making social media accounts and anyone aged 14 to 15 must get parental consent.
In 2024, Ron DeSantis, who is the governor of Florida, signed the bill into law.
And this might not be the last we hear of more states following suit.
On a national scale, the US Senate has also introduced a bill banning young people from social media.
The federal bill was introduced in April 2024 and would prohibit anyone under 13 from accessing social media platforms.
While it has since been stuck in the committee stage, there have been recent comments made by Senator Brian Schatz as well as Senator Ted Cruz that indicate there could be a second attempt in the works.
New legislation in recent months has also put new restrictions on how people access pornography, with age verification being forced on some sites.
In December 2024, the Florida Legislature passed HB 3 - a law that now requires age verification for anyone trying to access pornographic sites. This came into force on January 1, 2025.
As well as anonymous and standard age verification being put in place on adult sites, the law now sees the state Department of Legal Affairs fine websites as much as $50,000 if they fail to comply with the new regulations.
After Pornhub refused to comply with the new laws, the NSFW site was officially banned in Kentucky, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, North Carolina, Montana, Mississippi, Virginia, Arkansas, Utah and Florida as of the new year.