Last week, Governor Hochul signed two pieces of legislation into law, co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-C Marcy). These bills will protect our children’s data on social media (A8149a) and prevent tech platforms from targeting children with addictive algorithms (A8148a).

“As a lifelong educator and a grandparent, nothing is more important than protecting our children. Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and X use the data of our children and teenagers to create a profile of them so they can be targeted with addictive algorithms. The use of our children’s data to create the algorithms causes them to be addicted to social media, which can lead to significantly higher rates of mental illness, self-harm, and suicide,” explained Assemblywoman Buttenschon. “This legislation makes New York State a leader in protecting our children on social media.”

The New York Child Data Protection Act will prevent social media companies from selling the data of New Yorkers under 18 and using that data for reasons that are not strictly necessary for the platform. It would also require parents of children under thirteen to specify precisely how they want their child's data to be used.

The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act would prohibit social media platforms from generating addictive algorithms based on what posts they like and how long they spend viewing a post. The legislation also prevents platforms from sending notifications relating to their algorithms between 12 AM and 6 AM without parental consent.

"Nothing is more important than the health and welfare of our children. This commonsense legislation will protect our children from addictive algorithms and their data from being exploited for profit," explained Buttenschon. "I want to thank Governor Hochul for joining my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and Attorney General James in protecting our children."

To watch Assemblywoman Buttenschon’s remarks on the passage of the legislation, click here.