Georgia committee hears substitute to bar engagement‑maximizing social media features for minors

The Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on a committee substitute to Senate Bill 343, which would prohibit social media platforms from using engagement‑maximizing algorithms and design features on accounts the platform knows belong to minors, sponsor Senator Hatchett told the panel.

Senator Hatchett, presenting the substitute, said the measure is not a ban on social media or a content censorship effort but a push to "stop social media companies from using addictive algorithms on kids" while allowing minors to access lawful speech. She described platform features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, variable‑reward mechanics and late‑night push notifications as product designs intended to maximize time on site and said the substitute requires platforms to apply commercially reasonable methods to distinguish minors from adults.

Supporters and opponents framed the measure as a balance between child protection and constitutional rights. Katrina Fitzgerald, deputy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told the committee that tech products are deliberately engineered to keep users engaged and urged stronger privacy and data‑minimization safeguards than are in the committee substitute. "They collect massive amounts of data about kids, and then they use this information to manipulate them into staying on a platform longer," Fitzgerald said, and she warned that a substitute that relies on self‑attestation could let many minors miss out on protections.

The substitute limits enforcement to the state attorney general and, as presented, does not create a private right of action; the sponsor said that approach aims to avoid a flood of lawsuits while holding platforms accountable. During questioning, EPIC's witness recommended allowing private enforcement in addition to attorney‑general enforcement, saying state attorneys general are often overburdened and cases against major platforms are resource intensive.

Faith and technology‑sector witnesses expressed support. Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said the organization supports the bill as part of its child‑protection work and cited the group's reach in Georgia. Representatives from the AllSafe app described pilot programs with Georgia universities and school systems and said their product provides a HIPAA‑compliant way for students to connect anonymously with counselors; they said their platform could help identify threatening behavior and assist minors who have circumvented age checks.

Civil liberties advocates urged caution. Brandy Blue, a legislative fellow with the ACLU of Georgia, said the group opposes the current substitute and emphasized that "young people also have First Amendment rights," and urged the committee to work on revisions to preserve those rights while protecting minors.

The sponsor also drew a distinction between this substitute and a separate age‑verification bill the committee will consider next week (Senate Bill 467), saying the two measures should work in concert so protections take effect when age is verified. The substitute, the sponsor said, does not require uploading government identification and places responsibility on platforms to use commercially reasonable methods to identify minors.

No vote was taken. The committee treated SB 343 as a hearing‑only item and adjourned with plans to meet next week for additional testimony; the sponsor asked for input from app stores and platforms before further action.

Upcoming steps include additional hearings and cross‑committee discussion of related age‑verification proposals. The legislative committee number for the substitute was confirmed in the hearing as LC 640057S.