Protecting Minors from Social Media Harms

Scripture charges parents with guarding the hearts and minds of their children (Proverbs 4:23). That responsibility does not pause when a child picks up a phone. HB318 recognizes this by requiring social media platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing minors to create or maintain accounts, placing the law on the side of the family rather than the platform.

The documented harms of unrestricted social media access for children are serious and growing. Researchers, pediatricians, and parents across the country have catalogued links between heavy adolescent social media use and depression, anxiety, exposure to predatory behavior, and access to explicit content. These are not abstract risks. They are the daily reality for millions of families who lack the legal tools to hold platforms accountable.

This bill is a direct and enforceable intervention. It does not merely encourage platforms to act responsibly; it requires them to do so as a condition of serving minor users in Alaska. That distinction matters. Voluntary industry standards have repeatedly proven insufficient. A legal requirement with teeth gives parents a meaningful backstop.

Critics may raise concerns about implementation or the scope of coverage, and those are legitimate questions for the legislative process. However, the core principle here is sound: companies that profit from minors' attention should not be permitted to do so without the knowledge and approval of those children's parents. The bill's narrower focus on social media platforms does not diminish its value as a concrete, targeted protection.

The American Council supports HB318 because it treats parental authority as real and enforceable rather than merely aspirational. Families deserve more than good intentions from the technology industry. They deserve the force of law behind their role as the primary guardians of their children's formation, and this bill delivers that in a direct and principled way.