New York Governor Kathy Hochul, following her announcement earlier this week about investing in improving youth mental health, revealed on Thursday (May 30th) her plan to introduce legislation banning students from using smartphones in schools. This marks the latest initiative by New York officials to address children’s online safety.
“I have been further emboldened in my commitment to advancing legislation after meeting with advocates across the state and families to combat addictive social media content and protect internet-connected children,” the governor stated in a press release.
She told media outlets including The Guardian on Thursday, “I’ve seen these addictive algorithms lure young people in, truly capturing them and incarcerating them in a space disconnected from human connection, social interaction, and normal classroom activities.”
Hochul mentioned that she intends to roll out this legislation later this year for discussion in the legislative session starting in January next year.
If passed, students will be allowed to carry basic feature phones that cannot access the internet but can send text messages, a move long desired by parents; however, the governor did not provide specific details on enforcing the ban.
In addition to the smartphone legislation, Hochul is also pushing for two other related bills. One is the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids (SAFE) Act, primarily targeting algorithmic content feeds. This would require social media platforms to provide underage users with a default chronological feed composed of accounts they choose to follow, rather than accounts suggested by algorithms; the bill also grants parents broader control, such as the ability to block access to nighttime notifications.
Companies found in violation of the provisions in this bill could face fines of $5,000 per instance, and parents would have the right to seek compensation for losses through legal action.
Furthermore, the governor has introduced the New York Child Data Protection Act aimed at safeguarding children’s online privacy, restricting website operators from collecting children’s personal data. The act prohibits companies from implementing age verification processes, such as facial recognition or uploading identification documents.
In New York, these bills have faced opposition from major tech firms, trade organizations, and other groups. According to disclosed records, these companies collectively spent over $800,000 lobbying against one or both of the proposals between October and March last year.
Hochul stated that this opposition has “no bearing” on her, sending a strong message to internet giants, “You cannot profit off the mental health of New York’s children.”