SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Legislation on Gov. JB Pritzker's desk could set new restrictions on youth social media accounts and allow parents to have greater control over online actions.
Illinois would ban social media companies from using addictive algorithms for youth, stop on-platform location sharing and prohibit scam financial transactions with strangers.Â
This was one of Pritzker's top priorities during the spring session.
"It adds important privacy protections to the device-level assurance process to ensure that children's data is safe and doesn't fall into the wrong hands," said Pritzker administration legislative advisor Lindsey Vols. "It expands on Attorney General enforcement to ensure companies are held responsible for failing to protect children while reinforcing that this act does not create a new private right of action."
Parents of minors 16 and older would have the ability to override the privacy settings if they choose. The proposal also notes that a parent could override the privacy settings for a minor under 16 years old if they approve of the content.
House Bill 5511 passed unanimously out of both chambers during the final days of the spring session.Â
"The evidence has become impossible to ignore," said Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago). "There are currently more than 10,000 individual cases and nearly 800 school district lawsuits pending against social media companies alleging that these platforms have contributed to serious harm to children."
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