(The Center Square) – An Illinois state senator is looking to regulate social media companies in order to protect children from harm, but some see a patchwork of laws across the country causing problems and possibly infringing on constitutional rights.
Last week, state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, revealed some of her legislative priorities in her “Safe Screens, Healthy Minds” initiative.
“We cannot rely upon social media companies to self-regulate because at every turn they have openly and behind the scenes resisted measures to protect minors,” Rezin said during a news conference.
Among the proposals are to require high default privacy settings for children and parents. Another would require social media companies to have a free customer support service to address complaints. A third would require platforms to create an identity verification process.
Rezin said requiring ID verification is crucial.
“The need for some form of identity verification on these platforms is something that has been repeatedly brought up by concerned parents and educators whenever I discuss this issue,” she said.