John

Utah’s government is trying to restrict teenagers from using the internet freely by instituting a curfew and giving parents complete control over their kids’ social media accounts. ^[1]

Lawmakers touted mental health concerns associated with social media use as the reason for severely limiting teenagers’ use of social media. But we know this is a front. It’s simply the latest attempt to control and restrict how young people use the Internet. Utah’s become the town in Footloose: a bunch of out of touch politicians trying to dictate how young people behave.

Take action now to fight social media bans!

Take Action

It’s true that Big Tech’s advertising model hurts kids and teens. But age-gating all social media, for anyone under 18? That won’t solve the problem, and it’s a direct attack on millions of young people’s First Amendment rights.

To make matters worse, legislation like this is spreading. Arkansas^[2], Louisiana^[3], and Texas^[4] are trying to follow suit, and a similar bill has been introduced in Congress.^[5]

Can you sign the petition and tell lawmakers to focus on passing comprehensive privacy legislation to protect children from the exploitative practices of big tech companies, instead of infringing upon the First Amendment rights of teenagers?

Thank you for your support,

Sarah Philips at ❤️ Fight

Footnotes:

1. WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/23/utah-law-social-media-minors/

2. Arkansas: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/tech/arkansas-social-media-age-limit/index.html

3. Louisiana: https://www.businessreport.com/politics/state-lawmaker-filing-bill-that-restricts-social-media-access-for-children

4. Texas: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/why-a-texas-lawmaker-is-proposing-a-social-media-ban-for-those-under-18/

5. Congress: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3860333-hawley-proposes-ban-on-social-media-for-kids-under-16/