New law in Ohio makes it harder for kids under 16 to access social media

Beginning Jan. 15, Ohio’s new law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, will go into effect, making it harder for kids under 16 to access social media in the state. Big companies, including social media sites, will have to comply. Here’s what they — and parents in Ohio — need to know about the new law.

What is the Ohio Social Media Parental Notification Act?

The law requires social media sites to get consent to contractual terms of service from a parent or legal guardian before allowing any children under 16 to use their platforms. It applies to all social media and online gaming and activity companies, meaning Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat are covered by the law, but ecommerce retailers are not.

If a parent or legal guardian does not consent to the terms of service, the law requires the sites to block kids under age 16 from using their platforms.

How do social media sites get parental consent for young users?

Under the law, social media companies will have to follow a series of steps:

• Create a method for determining when a user is under 16
• Obtain parental consent by having the child’s parent or legal guardian sign a digital form, call a phone number, send in their government-issued ID, or use another method of verification.

The law also requires the companies to send a copy of the written verification of consent to the parent or guardian.

Why did Ohio pass this law?

More and more evidence is mounting that social media can have harmful effects on kids — the U.S. attorney general even issued a first-of-its-kind warning about it last year. Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted pushed for the new law based on his belief that social media is designed to be addictive to kids and can harm their mental health.

“We hope that more parents will either prohibit or limit the amount of interaction their children are having, amount of time their children are spending on their devices, on these apps, and put filters on it to make sure that it is limiting the age-level content if they really want their children to be seeing,” he said.

Will other states pass similar laws?

Other states have passed laws pertaining to kids’ privacy online, but in some cases, like in Arkansas, judges have blocked the laws.

Ohio’s law is already facing legal challenges.

Still, other states are considering, or even passing, similar legislation. Utah has already passed a law similar to Ohio’s that’s set to take effect next year.