NC Senate votes on teen social media, ban but shoots down proposals on AI, privacy

The North Carolina Senate approved new restrictions intended to block younger teenagers from "addictive" social media platforms on Wednesday, a day after the bill faced discussion in committee over who would pay for portions of the bill and whether age verification could take place anonymously.

Last week, state lawmakers rewrote House Bill 301 to apply only to "addictive" platforms, which include many criteria. Namely, they would be websites or apps primarily used for uploading content, and they would use an algorithm to collect data on users and then select content to show those users.

The bill would ban anyone 13 years and younger from having a social media account on such a platform. Children who are 14 and 15 would need parent or guardian consent.

Any children of those ages who currently have accounts would either have them deleted, or be required to provide parental or guardian permission to continue using them.

"This bill provides common sense guardrails to help children, parents, and educators navigate the digital world safely," Sen. Dana Jones, R-Forsyth, said, adding it's also aimed at "creating a strong foundation for responsible AI use in the classroom, and giving parents an additional tool to protect their children from addictive social media platforms."

The bill passed unanimously. Democratic senators said Wednesday that they wished the bill had gone further in several areas, particularly in cracking down on artificial intelligence, but that they're glad to see any restrictions moving closer to becoming law.

"Many of our kids are struggling with mental health crises, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations caused by the pressures of social media platforms," Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg, said.

Separately, the state attorney general's office is also suing TikTok and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for harming young people's mental health. Those lawsuits began under former Attorney General Josh Stein, now the governor, and have continued under new Attorney General Jeff Jackson.

The bill would fine social media companies up to $50,000 for each time a younger teen sets up an account against the law's provisions. Families of those children could sue companies for the violation, up to $10,000, if the bill becomes law.

The bill already passed the House, but the Senate made some tweaks, so it must now go back to the House before it can be sent to Stein to sign or veto. It previously passed the House in a 106-6 vote.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told lawmakers last week that the best way to require age verification is through the app store and federally approved App Store Accountability Act, not through state law.

One lawmaker said she favored anonymous age verification, to avoid any data being susceptible to exposure. House Bill 301 allows for that but doesn't require it.

The bill now includes a provision requiring the State Board of Education to adopt standards for age-appropriate instruction on artificial intelligence literacy. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for two and a half years has had guidance in the form of a living document but hasn't as required schools to follow it, in part because of the changing nature of the technology and how people use it.

The bill would also require teachers to take training --- developed by the Friday Institute at North Carolina State University --- on artificial intelligence. One lawmaker asked whether schools would be required to pay for the training. GOP leaders said they're planning to provide funding for that in the next budget, though a budget hasn't been agreed upon yet.

Lawmakers in favor of the bill have said they believe social media is a permanent part of life now yet can be destructive, particularly for young people. However, Senate Republicans shot down several amendments to the bill from Democrats intended to strengthen or expand its provisions.

Sen. DeAndrea Salvador, D-Mecklenburg, proposed changes that would allow people to know what data social media companies are collecting about their health, religion, sexuality or other personal details, as well as giving people the right to demand those companies either correct inaccuracies in that data, or delete it entirely.

That proposal was shot down in a party-line vote in the Republican-led Senate, as were three amendments from other Democrats.

Greensboro Democratic Sens. Michael Garrett and Joyce Waddell proposed spending $5 million helping schools pay for the new educational programs the bill demands, and enacting stricter rules on parental controls over their kids' social media algorithms.  

"I have two children in our public schools," Garrett said. "Every parent and grandparent in this chamber, and every parent and grandparent watching, knows the feeling of handing a child a device and wondering what's on the other side of that screen. Right now, the answer is simple: 'Whatever maximizes engagement.' This amendment changes that answer to 'Whatever keeps them safe.'"

Senate minority leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, proposed an amendment to increase penalties for AI-generated child porn, to require social media influencers to disclose if they're being paid to promote things, and to require disclosures when advertisements use AI-generated content.

She also proposed a law that would force AI chat bots into a "duty of loyalty" that would require the companies behind them to ensure they don't encourage people to harm themselves, and for the AI companies to remind users that chatbots aren't human and can't form emotions like love or trust.

"A lot of our children are having increased loneliness and sadness, depression, anxiety," Batch said. "There are AI bots that some of you probably have heard about, that have made national news, where children have sought out connection with AI bots that end up encouraging them to self-harm and to commit suicide. And some children have actually done that. So this [amendment] puts parameters in place to ensure that they are protected."

Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, told Batch that some of what she proposed might be things Republicans would agree to, but not without further study. He asked her to withdraw her amendment so the ideas could be considered in committee as a separate bill.

"It looks like you put a lot of work into this amendment, and there might be a few things we could agree on if we had enough time to work on it," Daniel said. "Whether or not there is enough time in the remaining part of the session, I don't know."

Lawmakers have said they plan to end this year's session by the end of this month. Batch declined to pull her amendment, and Republicans shot down her proposals another party-line vote.