Gov. Spencer Cox has signed two bills into law that requires websites such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube to verify the ages of users. Anyone under age 18 must get a parent’s permission to use them.
The new laws also set a “digital curfew” from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. which means children must get a parent’s permission for a late-night look.
Ryan Dobson, of Rebel Parenting, calls the new law a good start.
“People are going to go, Oh, kids can get around this. Absolutely. Of course, they can,” he tells AFN. “This is a great rule for good parents.”
Because of the popularity of social media, there is constant pressure on parents, Dobson says, to give their children more and more freedom to watch and use social media. Going back generations, parents have heard the “all my friends do it” argument, he allows, and the best response is to remind a child a parent’s job is to look after their health and well-being, and even to make sure they put down the tablet and go to sleep.
There is also one more thing a parent can do.
“If you've not been that involved in your child's life, or other social media, or whatever, apologize,” Dobson advises.
