Michigan Senate Bills Aim to Require Social Media Companies to Protect Minors From Harmful Business Practices

Governor Gretchen Whitmer called for stronger federal action to protect children from addictive practices by social media companies to keep kids online. The Democratic governor took part in a summit Tuesday of groups seeking to hold internet companies accountable for what they describe as harms caused by businesses that put their interests ahead of protecting vulnerable users.

The summit featured activists who pointed to jury verdicts in New Mexico and Los Angeles that held social media companies liable for using online addiction to meet growth targets. Windsor Western, a co-founder of the activist group Her Campus Media, said jury verdicts in New Mexico and Los Angeles held social media companies liable for using online addiction to meet growth targets.

We are officially in a new era, she said. Last months verdicts against Meta and YouTube proved what everyone in this room already knew infinite scroll is not an accident. They did it on purpose. It was an engineering choice to keep us all addicted.

Michigan has passed laws to limit screens in classrooms, ban holding devices while driving, and punish using AI to create graphic images of people without their consent. But Whitmer said online bullying and tech industry practices to keep children online do not stop at state borders.

So weve taken the action that we can at the state level, but we need to do a hell of a lot more, she said. Well do what we can. So long as Im governor, well make sure to do that, but, I think, ultimately, I think we are going to need federal legislation on this front.

There are bills awaiting action in the Michigan Senate that would require social media companies to take steps to protect minors from harmful business practices that have been linked in some instances to depression and suicide risk.

Senate Bills 757, 758, 759, and 760 were advanced as means to protect children and spring from the best of intentions. But critics argue they rest on dubious assumptions and may damage the interests of Michiganders, adults and children alike.

Asked about the meaning of addictive as it applies to social media, Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-4th District), the sponsor of SB 757, said: You find an interest in one particular item on your social media feed it can continue to give you that type of material that youre looking for and send you down the rabbit hole for hours and hours on end.

If Camilleri meant that social media platforms attempt to provide their users with relevant content to ensure they remain interested, his contention is true, but unexceptional proof of nothing. All businesses attempt to give their customers more of what they want. This is true as much for retail outlets and grocers as for the entertainment industries, such as traditional media and social media. Businesses strive to provide products that customers value.

SB 758 resembles a 2022 California statute largely enjoined by a federal judge. It would regulate any design feature that is designed primarily to encourage or increase the frequency, time spent, or activity of a user on the online service. This could apply even to services that pose no danger to children.

In short, if a digital service offers a product that users like a product that incentivizes them to use the service, it would be subjected to SB 758s onerous provisions. Deprecating ordinary business conduct with vague allegations of sinister conduct is no basis for a system of digital regulation.

The Michigan Senate is considering a slate of proposed digital regulations that would require social media companies to protect minors from harmful business practices linked to depression and suicide risk. Bills awaiting action include SB 757, SB 758, SB 759, and SB 760.

Governor Whitmer spoke at an internet summit where activists pointed to jury verdicts holding Meta and YouTube liable for engineering addiction into their platforms. She argued that while Michigan has state-level protections for children online, these measures do not cross state lines and that federal legislation is needed to address online bullying and tech industry practices that keep children online.

Senate bills 757 through 760 aim to require social media companies to protect minors from harmful business practices. Sen. Darrin Camilleri sponsors SB 757 and defines addictive as sending users down rabbit holes for hours on end. Critics argue this standard would deem every business in history to be designed to be addictive, as all businesses attempt to provide customers with more of what they want.

SB 758 resembles a 2022 California statute enjoined by a federal judge. It would regulate design features that encourage increased user frequency, time spent, or activity on online services. This broad definition could apply even to services that pose no danger to children and would subject them to onerous provisions.

The bills were advanced by the Michigan Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection as means to protect children. However, critics argue the legislation rests on dubious assumptions about what constitutes addiction in the digital world and may damage innovation while degrading quality of digital services Michiganders rely on.