Pennsylvania SB 22: An Act amending Title 50 (Mental Health) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for protection of minors on social media; and imposing penalties.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 120
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 22
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, PHILLIPS-HILL, PENNYCUICK, ROTHMAN,
FONTANA, BROWN, COLLETT, SCHWANK, COMITTA, KANE, COSTA,
J. WARD, CULVER, KEARNEY, SAVAL AND MILLER, JANUARY 24, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, JANUARY 24, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 50 (Mental Health) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for protection of minors on
social media; and imposing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 50 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding parts to read:
PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
(Reserved)
PART II
MINORS
Chapter
10. Preliminary Provisions (Reserved)
11. Protecting Minors on Social Media
CHAPTER 10
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
(Reserved)
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CHAPTER 11
PROTECTING MINORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Subchapter
A. General Provisions
B. Unlawful Activity
C. Consent to Open an Account
D. Data
SUBCHAPTER A
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec.
1101. Scope of chapter.
1102. Legislative intent.
1103. Definitions.
§ 1101. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to protecting minors on social media.
§ 1102. Legislative intent.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Social media use among American teenagers is nearly
universal. According to the Pew Research Center, 95% of teens
report using YouTube and 67% of teens have used TikTok, with
16% using TikTok almost constantly.
(2) According to the Pew Research Center, 54% of teens
say it would be difficult to give up social media entirely.
(3) Social media use is linked to negative feelings
among teens. A growing body of research, described in the
International Journal of Adolescence and Youth and elsewhere,
has found that increased social media use is associated with
greater rates of depression and anxiety in teens. Additional
research published in the Children and Youth Services Review
describe a trend in which social media use can trigger and
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accelerate offline violence.
(4) Rates of suicide and self-harm among American
teenagers have grown dramatically in recent years. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that,
in 2021, three in five girls felt persistently sad and
hopeless, while more than one in four girls reported
seriously considering attempting suicide. These rates have
increased significantly since 2011.
(5) Federal and state policymakers are beginning to
recognize the risks that social media use places on American
youth. A number of recent policy proposals provide parents
and guardians of teenagers with greater oversight over their
children's social media use.
(6) In May 2023, the United States Surgeon General
released a health advisory finding that "more research is
needed to fully understand the impact of social media;
however, the current body of evidence indicates that while
social media may have benefits for some children and
adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can
also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and
well-being of children and adolescents." The advisory
recommends a range of policies to consider, including
"policies that further limit access - in ways that minimize
the risk of harm - to social media for all children,
including strengthening and enforcing age minimums."
(7) In addition to empowering parents and guardians to
protect children against these risks, policymakers are
establishing mechanisms to hold social media companies
accountable for harms to children and youth.
(8) Greater oversight of social media platforms will
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enable families in this Commonwealth to use online tools in a
more productive and healthy fashion.
§ 1103. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Account." Any means of registration by which an individual
may engage in one or more functions of a social media platform.
"Delete." To remove personal information so the information
is not retrievable by anyone and cannot be retrieved in the
normal course of business.
"Fund." The School Safety and Security Fund established
under section 1306-B(h) of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949.
"Mine." The activity or process of searching through large
amounts of information for specific data or patterns.
"Minor." Except as provided in section 1131 (relating to
definitions), an individual who is less than 16 years of age.
"Personal information." As defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6501
(relating to definitions).
"Personalized recommendation system." A fully or partially
automated system that is based on a user's historical a