Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., intends to make his focus in the current Congress a legislative package aimed at protecting children online — including by setting the age threshold to be on social media at 16.
In an interview with NBC News, Hawley detailed some top lines of what his agenda will include, such as:
- Mandating social media companies verify the age of their users.
- Providing parents a right to demand that tech companies delete their kids’ data.
- Commissioning a wide-ranging congressional mental-health study on the impact social media has on children.
“For me, this is about protecting kids, protecting their mental health, protecting their safety,” Hawley said. “There’s ample evidence to this effect that big tech companies put their profits ahead of protecting kids online.”