GEORGIA KIDS WOULD NEED PARENTAL PERMISSION TO JOIN SOCIAL MEDIA IF SENATE REPUBLICANS GET THEIR WAY

Georgia could join other states requiring children to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.

Two top Republicans in the Georgia state Senate — Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas — said in a news conference they will seek to pass such a law in 2024. The proposal could also restrict accounts on other online services.

“It’s important that we empower parents,” Anavitarte said. “A lot of parents don’t know how to restrict content.”

Anavitarte said Georgia’s rules would be modeled on a law Louisiana passed this year. That measure, which takes effect in 2024, says social media services must verify an account holder’s age and can’t let someone younger than 18 join without parental consent.

Arkansas, Texas and Utah also passed laws this year requiring parental consent for children to use social media. Some in Congress are also proposing parental consent for minors.

California last year enacted a law requiring online services to do more to protect children’s privacy and safety.

Anavitarte said he has briefly been in contact with Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. He and Jones said they would discuss plans with the social media giant.