COLUMBUS — A new state law taking effect in January grants parents oversight of their children’s use of social media websites, as well as online services and products aimed at children.
The Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act, approved by the General Assembly in July, will take effect on Jan. 15. Starting on that date, operators of social media sites must obtain parental consent before establishing accounts for children under the age of 16 and provide parents with a list of censoring or content moderation features, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.
“This law aims to give parents more control over their children creating new social media accounts. So just like any other time, if you feel like you’ve been wronged by a company, we take those complaints and work to resolve any issues – this is no different,” he said.
The law applies to “websites, services and products that are targeted to children or reasonably expected to be accessed by children,” Yost said.
If consent is not given, operators must deny the child access to the platform and if it is obtained, operators must send written confirmation of the account to the parent or legal guardian, Yost said.
If an operator fails to provide notification or a parent wishes to terminate a child’s access, parents should contact the website operator who then has 30 days to terminate the child’s access.
If parents are unsuccessful in the account being deleted, they are encouraged to file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at OhioProtects.org.
Companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday.
The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that stand to make money from children who use their platforms have failed to meaningfully self-regulate.