In recent legislative sessions, the Kentucky General Assembly has taken substantial steps to protect children from harm. In 2023, the General Assembly passed SB 150, which banned gender “transitions” on minors. In 2024, the General Assembly passed HB 278 to protect kids from online pornography. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld both of those laws last year. However, the General Assembly must do more to ensure that children in Kentucky are fully protected. The next step should be implementing commonsense protections for kids on social media.
Social media has brought positives to society. It expedites the sharing of information, bypassing biased legacy media outlets and empowering independent journalists. It allows families who live in different states and even countries to stay in contact. And it gives small businesses an opportunity to advertise for much cheaper than traditional advertising methods. However, social media has also brought some serious negatives upon society, especially children.
The addictive nature of social media has had serious dangerous effects on kids. Social media addiction rewires kids’ brains, creating anti-social behavior and stunting social and emotional learning. Brain imaging has shown that the effects of social media addiction is similar to the effects of hard-core drugs. Additionally, this addiction has led to a massive increase in depression rates amongst teenagers. But this is not the only effect social media has caused. Social media can expose kids to explicit content at young ages. One
study found that 58% of kids exposed to porn accidentally encountered pornography the first time. Social media is a common avenue for accidental exposure to porn. And this threat remains even after Kentucky’s age verification law.
To address these harms, Rep. Matt Lockett filed HB 227 (pictured) to give parents more control over their kids’ social media usage and to ban addictive features on social media platforms. The bill simply requires companies to estimate the ages of their users, something they already do, ensuring that kids are protected without infringing upon First Amendment rights. Please ask your Representative and Senator to support HB 227.
House Bill 277 TALKING POINTS
- Parents have a constitutional right to manage the upbringing of their children.
- Social media is incredibly harmful to children.
- Free speech and parental rights are compatible.
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let your KY legislators know that you support HB 227!
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