Texas lawmakers do not pass the ban on social media for those under 18 | Mint

Austin, Texas (AP) – a Push in Texas to ban social media accounts for children under 18, failed after legislators did not make an important vote on the creation of one of the most difficult restrictions of the country to hold minors such as Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram. The bill, which has already passed the GOP-controlled state house, has tried to go beyond a ban on social media for minors in Florida for minors under 14. Australia has banned social media accounts for someone under the 16. You may be interested in the legislative session Monday and early momentum behind the Texas measure that delayed at the eleventh hour in the state Senate as legislators have a weekend deadline to send Bills to the Republican. Abbott has not yet publicly said whether he supported the proposed ban, opposed by technical trade groups and critics who call it an unconstitutional limit on free speech. “There was no bill that submitted this session that would have protected more children in more ways,” said Jared Patterson, a Republican who carried the measure. In a post on the social media platform X, Patterson blamed the pushback of the name “billionaires” as part of the reason for the failure of the bill. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican who controls the State Senate, said on Wednesday before the deadline that he did not know if the bill had the support to pass the GOP-controlled room, and it was never never for a vote. Patterson said he would try again when the Texas legislature met in 2027. Many technical companies have established a presence in Texas, including X owned by Elon Musk. Earlier this week, Abbott signed a separate measure that requires Apple and Google to verify the age of online users from the app store, as well as consent of the parent to download apps and make in-app purchases for users under 18. Utah accepted a similar account earlier this year. The proposed ban in Texas aimed at minors was the latest step in a growing dual push nationwide to address the effects of social media on the well -being of children. Critics accuse platforms of using addictive features to attract children on their website and keep them there, and not to do enough to combat violent or age-unavailable content or online abuse. Nearly half of American teenagers say they are ‘constantly’ online, despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a December 2024 report published by the Pew Research Center. The American Psychological Association has called on technical enterprises and lawmakers to protect the mental health of children, arguing that social media platforms are ‘especially risky’ for young people who cannot disconnect from websites and struggle with impulse control. States and countries have taken out different measures to address the problem, and some have had legal challenges. A federal judge in 2024 temporarily blocked Utah’s first in-the-nation law that requires social media companies to check the ages of all users and place restrictions on accounts belonging to minors. California, which is home to some of the largest technical companies in the world, will make it illegal for social media platforms to give consciously addictive feeds to children without the consent of the parent who begins in 2027.