PA Could Mandate Social Media Age Limits, Allow Parents To Delete Accounts

HARRISBURG, PA — As the reckoning for social media platforms that critics say have recklessly harmed children continues, Pennsylvania legislators are looking for more ways to keep young people safe.

Legislation will soon be introduced in the Pennsylvania state Senate which would mandate age verification on social media platforms. It would also allow parents to request a child's account be deleted.

"There are clear and demonstrated harms to children who utilize these platforms, a fact which has been known by social media companies for years," State Rep. Robert W. Mercuri (R-Allegheny) said in a co-sponsorship memorandum "Attempts by these companies to curtail such harms failed to alleviate the problem and actually made it worse."

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The notion of social media age limits has been around for years, and the idea that they need to be tightened or that there needs to be more oversight has gained increasing traction in recent years. U.S. Congress made 13-years-old the minimum age to open an account with the passage of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

In support of their case, Mercuri and others have cited the internal document that suggested that Facebook and Instagram knew that their content and platforms were especially dangerous for teenage girls.

"When confronted with the possibility of accountability for the harms perpetuated, one company even attempted to drive a manufactured partisan wedge between a bipartisan issue in order to stall federal policy changes," Mercuri added.

Mercuri's bill also contains provisions which he says that would not allow social media companies to use information gained for age verification purposes for any other reason.