The current legislative session in New York State is drawing to a close, but both the legislators and the Governor have one more item on their agenda that they are determined to drag over the finish line. The proposed legislation would "crack down on addictive social media algorithms." They are hoping to ban the delivery of apps to children that are designed to keep them focused on their screens. The law would further bar social media companies from selling the data of children and require parental controls be made available for all such applications. But is any of this really practical or even possible? I suppose we'll find out soon enough because it sounds as if they have fairly solid bipartisan support for the measure. (NY Post)

Albany pols are rushing to put the finishing touches on proposed legislation meant to crack down on what they call “addictive” social-media algorithms — with a push from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The state legislators are trying to get the measures passed before the legislative session expires at the end of next week and many begin to furiously hit the campaign trail before November. “I’d say we’re at the 2 yard-line,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn), the bill’s senate sponsor, to The Post on Tuesday.

Hochul, speaking at an event with the Mental Health Association in New York a few miles from the capitol Tuesday, said, “We’re sticking with this fight."

We haven't seen the final legislation yet, but at least thus far they aren't identifying any specific platforms or applications that are being targeted. Based on the rather generic descriptions being offered, this legislation could apply to almost any of them more complicated than a solitaire game on your phone. I'm sure they're looking at TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest of the usual suspects.

To be clear, this legislation isn't targeting cell phones for kids or any other devices. Those are already banned in New York classrooms while school is in session. This legislation would reach much further into the spider's web and restrict how the platforms operate, specifically when minors are using their devices, and those restrictions would be in place 24/7, not just when the children are heading off to school.

As the Post notes, the social media companies have been pushing back hard, spending millions of dollars lobbying against this legislation. Meta and Google are among the largest drivers of that push, but they seem to be running into a brick wall here. They claim that the proposed legislation imposes unconstitutional limits on free speech, as well as infringing on the data privacy rights of minors. They further assert that these restrictions would shut down the algorithms they use to monitor and block hate speech.

As hard as I find it to believe, this may be a case of New York's government honestly trying to do something to help children without some sinister, leftist political motivation driving it, even if they are approaching it in a rather hamhanded fashion. (A rare thing in the Empire State, I can assure you.) But in the end, there are a couple of reasons why it probably won't be as effective as the Governor hopes if it even works at all. First of all, most kids these days are miles ahead of their parents in terms of technology and they tend to find ways around such blockading efforts. 

But even more to the point, the proper role of supervising children and ensuring that they avoid dangerous online threats belongs with the parents or guardians, not the state. Dangling something shiny in front of children and then simply blocking it isn't going to work. Parents who engage with their children, instill good values and help them realize the dangers that they may confront will always be much more successful. Raise better children and you'll wind up with a better country.