Texas Lawmakers Want To Ban Kids From Accessing Social Media

Texas lawmakers will soon gather together in Austin for the upcoming legislative session. And already, lawmakers have filed hundreds of pieces of legislation aimed at different areas of our lives. One area that some lawmakers want to tackle is the continued use of social media among younger people, primarily those under the age of 18.

The 89th Texas Legislative Session begins on January 12, 2025 and legislation targeting social media will certainly be looked at as schools, police, and parents struggle to keep the harmful effects of social media away from the classrooms and home.

Texas Lawmakers File Legislation To Rein In Social Media Use By Minors

Lawmakers have already filed legislation to rein in use of social media by users. One piece of legislation authored by State Representative Jared Patterson would ban minors from creating accounts on social media all together. The legislation would also require age verification for new users according to the Texas Tribune.

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In a press release, Patterson said that "social media is the most dangerous thing our kids have legal access to in Texas".

Other legislation includes a campaign to make people aware of the dangerous of the internet, banning people's likeness from being used in AI created pornographic images, and putting more money into internet crime units used by law enforcement.

Schools Struggle With Social Media's Impact on Students

This past October select Texas lawmakers heard stories about how social media has impacted young people according to the Texas Tribune. Including how a middle school girl developed an eating disorder after watching a TikTok video. Some have said that schools are a "hunting ground" for students who are being groomed according to the Texas Tribune.

Most of these incidents had a starting point at school where children have frequent access to technology and teachers and administrators are too busy to provide oversight. Add in the fact that they know ways to circumvent campus firewalls, students are being groomed via social media on school grounds, said Jacquelyn Alutto, president of Houston-based No Trafficking Zone, during the hearing.

“Right now, schools are a hunting ground,” she said.

With 95% of youth aged 13-17 on social media, an outright ban could have a major impact. So far there is no word on how much support Rep. Patterson has on a ban, but it's not hard to believe that there is at least some support for a ban.