New York State remains committed to creating and advancing stronger rules to protect children using the internet and social media. And in an effort to engage parents and the general public in the process and provide input and recommendations, State Attorney Letitia James, who is charged with creating rules for social media platforms and websites, is calling for them to join the conversation.
The court official made the announcement after presenting two recently signed announcements on her proposed rules for child online safety laws, in which parents, children, advocates, social media companies and technology industry professionals will have the opportunity to submit comments, suggestions, information and data on the rules.
Interested parties will have 60 days to submit comments and information to the Attorney General’s Office, as well as emails to ProtectNYKidsOnline@ag.ny.gov regarding the SAFE for Kids Act, and to ChildDataProtection@ag.ny.gov regarding the Child Data Protection Act.
The two bills in question, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, direct the Attorney General’s Office to “create rules to ensure that children are protected from the addictive features of social media platforms and that websites and mobile applications cannot collect and share children’s personal data.”
“New Yorkers expect this office to protect children on social media apps and online, and the rules we are drafting will do just that. By offering everyone, supporters and opponents of the recently signed legislation, the opportunity to submit comments and information, my office will ensure we can better address concerns and priorities,” the Attorney General said.
“I helped draft and promote the SAFE for Kids Act and the Children’s Data Protection Act because our children are experiencing a mental health crisis and government must step up and take action. I encourage all New Yorkers to provide feedback, input, and priorities over the next 60 days as we begin the rulemaking process.”
Senator Andrew Gounardes has joined the call for parents to weigh in on the rules that will begin to be implemented, noting that they will serve as a national model for how to protect children from big tech.
“For these laws to succeed, we need strong rules that safeguard young people’s private information and ensure that social media companies can no longer force toxic content into children’s feeds,” the bills’ sponsor said. “I applaud Attorney General James for acting quickly and ensuring an open and transparent rulemaking process. I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of this process to share feedback and ideas. We need robust public engagement for these rules to achieve their vital goals and keep New Yorkers safe.”
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic also said the passage of child online safety legislation earlier this year was a sign that New York is prioritizing the well-being of children over corporate profits.
“Now that Attorney General James has initiated the rulemaking process, we are in a position to ensure that the noble goals of these new laws to protect our children on social media and ensure their private information is safe are actually realized,” the legislator said.
Attorney General James explained that major social media companies rely on algorithms, which are designed to leverage personal data to serve content to users to keep them on the platform for as long as possible, which increases the addictive nature of social media platforms and has increased the risk to the well-being of young users.