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Senator urges ban on algorithmic social feeds for minors in proposed 'Kids Off Social Media Act'
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Summary
A senator urged passage of the Kids Off Social Media Act, saying platforms are engineered to addict children and proposing a minimum age for accounts plus a ban on algorithmic browsing for users aged 13–18 to limit exposure and prioritize safety.
A senator urged passage of the Kids Off Social Media Act, saying social media platforms are "literally built in a lab to hijack a kid's frontal lobe before they are fully formed" and arguing federal rules are needed to protect children from addictive design.
The senator, speaking in the provided transcript, said the bill would set a minimum age threshold for social media accounts and ban algorithmic browsing for minors aged roughly 13 to 18, leaving social feeds limited to friends or chronological posts. "There is no good reason, no good reason for 8 or a 9 year old to be on Instagram or Snapchat," the senator said, urging lawmakers to require companies to adopt basic protections rather than relying on individual parents to reconfigure settings.
Why it matters: The senator framed the shift as both a public-health and societal concern, arguing platforms profit by designing systems that maximize engagement and, in the senator's words, "the more they addict your kid, the more money they make." The bill's proponents say age thresholds and the removal of algorithmic personalization for minors would reduce exposure to addictive, attention-maximizing content and mitigate harms to developing brains.
Details cited in the transcript: The speaker described two core provisions: a minimum age before someone may register for a social media account, and for permitted minors (described as ages 13–18) a prohibition on algorithm-driven browsing so that feeds would resemble a friend-focused, chronological stream. The transcript does not specify the precise minimum age to be enacted, enforcement mechanisms, penalties for noncompliance, or how verification of age would be implemented. Those details were not recorded in the provided text.
Support and framing: The senator said parents across the political spectrum support delaying children's social media use and argued lawmakers have authority under statutory law to set such age limits. The senator said the measure is co-developed with "Senator Cruz and many others," naming Cruz as a co-sponsor. No additional sponsors, committee actions, or formal votes are recorded in the supplied transcript.
Quotes and attribution: All direct quotations in this article are attributed to the senator who spoke in the transcript. Representative quotes include: "These things are literally built in a lab to hijack a kid's frontal lobe before they are fully formed" and "There is no good reason, no good reason for 8 or a 9 year old to be on Instagram or Snapchat."
Next steps: The provided transcript contains only the senator's remarks and does not record a formal motion, committee vote, or a specified legislative schedule. The senator urged colleagues to pass the bill; the transcript does not indicate whether additional hearings, markup, or votes were scheduled.
