S.C. Panel Clears 2 Age-Verification Bills

A pair of South Carolina age-verification bills will advance to the full House Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to meet Tuesday. During a livestreamed meeting Thursday, the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee unanimously greenlit H-4700, which would require parental consent for minors younger than 18 to access social media, and H-3424, meant to keep kids off pornographic websites. The committee approved amendments to both bills by voice vote. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Weston Newton (R) revised his social media bill to be more like Louisiana’s similar law, he said. It was originally akin to a law in Utah, which faces an industry lawsuit (see 2312180054). The amended H-4700 requires social websites make commercially reasonable efforts to verify the age of South Carolina account holders and restrict anyone younger than 18 from having accounts unless they get parental consent. While tasking the state attorney general with enforcement, the amended bill continues to include a private right of action like Utah's does, said Newton. And the bill now requires online safety education for grades six through 12. Legislators should provide more support for parents and try to curb social media companies’ incentives to exploit children, said Casey Mock, Center for Humane Technology chief policy and public affairs officer. Social media companies made $11 billion in revenue from U.S. kids 18 and younger in 2022, including $2 billion from those younger than 12, said Mock, citing a Jan. 2 Harvard University study. Lawmakers should require “safety by default,” a design approach that is light touch, technology agnostic and content neutral, said Mock. Don’t be scared by tech industry "pressure tactics,” said Mock, referring to a NetChoice official mentioning litigation against other states at the South Carolina panel’s meeting last week (see 2401110044). An amendment to H-3424 tightens the definition of a pornographic website and gives sites three ways to verify age: a digitized ID card, an independent third-party verification service or “any commercially reasonable method that can verify age,” said sponsor Rep. Travis Moore (R): It also removes language directing the AG to develop rules. Wednesday in Utah, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-0 to approve a bill (SB-89) delaying seven months to Oct. 1 the effective date of the state’s litigated social media law.