New York’s creative solution to targeting children online: Block the algorithms

New York could soon become the first state to pass a law restricting social media platforms from using algorithms to promote content to minors.

New York could soon become the first state to pass a law restricting social media platforms from using algorithms to promote content to minors. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers are nearing a legislative deal on the proposal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The bill would push platforms such as TikTok and Meta’s Instagram to rank content in chronological order by default for young users. That could mean significant changes to how kids in New York interact with social media apps and would make algorithmically generated content feeds an opt-in experience requiring parental consent. The looming legislative agreement also includes a separate measure that seeks to protect children’s privacy, the person added. As currently written, that bill would restrict websites from collecting or sharing the personal data of users under 18 without consent, expanding on existing federal privacy protections for children under 13. A tentative deal on the social media bill was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. The agreement covering children’s privacy has not been previously reported. In addition to clamping down on algorithmic content feeds, the social media legislation would also force platforms to let parents set tougher limits on their kids’ social media use, such as during nights, and to set limits on app notifications that technology critics say keep users hooked.