Utah bill threatens everyone's internet security

Wherever you live, you should be paying attention to Utah Senate Bill 152 and the somewhat similar House Bill 311. Even though it's legislation for a single state, it could set a dangerous precedent and make it harder to pass and enforce sensible federal legislation that truly would protect children and other users of connected technology.

SB 152 would require parents to provide their government-issued ID and physical address in order for their child or teenager to access social media. But even if you like those provisions, this bill would require everyone — including adults — to submit governmentissued ID to sign up for a social media account, including not just sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, but also video sharing sites like YouTube, which is commonly used by schools. The bill even bans minors from being online between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., empowering the government to usurp the rights of parents to supervise and manage teens' screen time. Should it be illegal for teens to get up early to finish their homework (often requiring access to YouTube or other social media) or perhaps access information that would help them do early morning chores? Parents — not the state — should be making and enforcing their family's schedule.

I oppose these bills from my perch as a long-time child safety advocate (I wrote “Child Safety on the Information Highway” in 1994 for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and am currently CEO of ConnectSafely.org). However well-intentioned, they could increase risk and deny basic rights to children and adults.

Database of kids and adults

SB 152 would require companies to keep a “record of any submissions provided under the requirements,” which means there would not only be databases of all social media users, but also of us