SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A new version of Gov. JB Pritzker's children social media safety plan was discussed late Saturday night.
The bill 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 online.
"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 for 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 legislation also notes a parent could override the privacy settings for a minor under 16 years old if they approve of the content.Â
House Bill 5511 passed out of the Senate Executive Committee on a 10-2 vote. The measure now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.
"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 platform have contributed to serious harm to children."
This proposal would need to head back to the House after Senate approval due to the amended language. It previously received an 82-27 vote in the House.
"Rather than transmitting data about a child's birthday directly to each app, House Bill 5511 gives parents the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their child is not being fed addictive content in a way that does not compromise their privacy," said Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview).
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