DISCUSS: A Law To Limit Social Media Time To One Hour

Virginia has passed a law limiting the time children can be on a social media app to no more than one hour.

Social media companies would have to verify children’s ages, and if they are under 16 cut them off after one hour. To get that information, they would presumably have to ask adults to confirm their ages as well.

This is nanny state, to be sure. And isn’t it the parents’ vocation to police their children’s use of the internet? This is clearly the state taking the place of parents.

The media reports sound like the parents’ role in their children’s social media use will actually be restricted: “Parents will not be able to access any other part of their child’s private social media settings or allow them to view messages or private posts.”

And yet, “The responsibility to make sure children are not spending too long on social media will lie with the companies, rather than with parents.”

One could argue that parents are not doing a good enough job in protecting their children from the harmful effects of social media, so that the state needs to step in. Do you buy that?

Do you think this law provides needed protection for children or is it a usurpation of parental authority on the part of the state?