OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) – A Republican-led bill to ban Oklahomans under the age of 16 from creating certain social media accounts passed a House committee Tuesday afternoon.
Representative Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, authored House Bill 3914 .
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The proposal states anyone under the age of 16 is barred from social media sites who annually generate $100 million or more.
“I think it’s one of those things when you talk to just about any teenager, they will tell you about the mental health issues they’re facing today, whether that be increases in anxiety or depression. Unfortunately, things as far as self-harm, cutting, suicide attempts; I think one of the main drivers to that, sadly, is our social media accounts.”
Representative Chad Caldwell, R-Enid
With there being an age restriction for alcohol, tobacco, tattoos, and movies, Rep. Caldwell said it only makes sense for social media to have it as well.
“We understand there’s probably a right time and a wrong time for a kid to make that decision themselves. This is just putting in some of those guardrails to help protect them until they’re ready to make those decisions themselves,” he added. “There’s no magic age, there’s no silver bullet that every child is going to be the same. We’re going to be ready at the same point.”