Ban Minors from Social Media Accounts

The Rhode Island Social Media Regulation Act takes a direct and enforceable approach to one of the most urgent threats facing children today. Rather than issuing guidance or urging voluntary restraint from technology companies, this bill establishes a clear legal prohibition: minors in Rhode Island may not hold social media accounts. That clarity is a strength, not a limitation.

Parents bear a God-given responsibility to guard their children's hearts and minds. Scripture calls us to train up children in the way they should go and to protect the innocent from corrupting influences. Social media platforms have systematically bypassed parental authority by granting children direct, unmediated access to content, communities, and commercial interests that no thoughtful parent would knowingly invite into the home. This bill restores a measure of that structural protection.

The documented harms of social media on minors are extensive. Researchers, pediatricians, and mental health professionals have linked heavy social media use among children and adolescents to increased rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and exposure to predatory behavior. Legislative action is not an overreach here; it is a proportionate response to a demonstrated public harm affecting the most vulnerable members of society.

Critics may argue that enforcement is difficult or that parents alone should manage their children's digital lives. Both concerns deserve honest engagement. No law enforces itself perfectly, but legal prohibitions set norms, create accountability for platforms, and give parents legal backing when they need it. As for parental authority, this bill does not replace it; it reinforces it by removing the pressure children face to participate in platforms their parents may have already restricted.

The American Council supports this legislation because it reflects a coherent, principled conviction that children deserve protection and that families deserve support in providing it. Faith communities have always understood that ordered societies build structures around their most vulnerable members. This bill does exactly that, and Rhode Island families are better positioned because of it.