California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a smartphone restriction during school days due to the increasing mental health risk of social media usage.
In 2019, Newsom signed a bill in 2019 to authorize school districts to limit or ban the usage of smartphones in school or put them under the supervision of a school employee.
California Governor Plans Smartphone Restriction on Schools as Law
Recently, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed to Congress that social media companies must be required to put warning labels and disclose effects to young users. Newson backed the proposal and shared a document he signed in 2019.
"When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies - not their screens," the governor said in a statement. He also shared that he is hopeful to work with the Legislature to build a law that will restrict smartphones on school days.
Other details for the proposal have yet to be disclosed. Meanwhile, the California School Boards Association stated that any regulations about student's devices should be decided by the school districts.
US Government Explores Mitigation of Social Media's Impact on Youth
The U.S. government has been monitoring the impacts of social media platforms and smartphone usage on young users. Several top companies like Meta and TikTok have been facing probes due to the harmful effects of their platforms on youth.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bans social media for children under age 14. The bill also stated that 14 and 15-year-olds must acquire parental permission first.
The New York State Legislature also passed a bill that gives parents more control over their kids' social media posts. The new bill allows parents to block their kids from receiving and viewing posts from the platform's algorithm.
In California, a committee hearing in the Assembly next month will be held to review Senator Nancy Skinner's proposal to ban online platforms from suggesting addictive algorithms to minors.
