On Friday, the Utah House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill requiring parental consent for minors using social media accounts.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, says that this bill is possibly one of the most important that will be considered this session. The bill, originally drafted to ban kids under the age of 16 from having social media accounts, has since been changed to require parents giving consent for their children to use social media.
According to Tiffany Barker, a mother of five, the original bill required proof of your age and who you were, primarily through a government ID, but that has since been changed. However, while happy with some of the changes, Barker still has concerns regarding the bill, saying that it’s not the government’s job to tell parents how to parent.
On the opposing end, people like Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley believe that this bill will only empower parents by giving them tools and resources for them to manage their kids. Horsley also says that social media is damaging to the school system as well as its staff and students.
The bill will now move on to the House floor for further voting.