Senator Katie Britt continues her fight to protect America's children from the mental health crisis currently occurring across the country.

As part of that effort, Britt joined three of his fellow senators on Thursday: Kids' Social Media Ban LawIf passed, the bipartisan bill would set the minimum age for use of social media platforms at 13 and ban social media companies from serving algorithmically targeted content to users under the age of 17.

“There is no doubt that our nation is facing a growing youth mental health crisis that is closely tied to the increased use of social media by children and teens,” said Rep. Britt (R-Montgomery). “Across our country, families are being torn apart and futures destroyed. I will work with my colleagues from both parties to enact the commonsense, age-appropriate solutions needed to address this generation's challenges.”

Details of the “Kids Off Social Media Act” are as follows:

• Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts.
It is consistent with current practices of major social media companies;
• Banning social media companies from using algorithms to push targeted content to users under the age of 17.
• Gives the FTC and state attorneys general the power to enforce the bill's provisions.
• Require schools to block and filter social media on federally funded networks.

Other senators who co-sponsored the bill are Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

Studies have shown that children, especially girls, are the age group most affected by the ongoing mental health crisis in the United States.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that in 2021, 57% of high school girls and 29% of high school boys reported persistently feeling sad or hopeless, and 22% of all high school students and almost one-third of high school girls reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year.

From 2019 to 2021, screen time for teens and preteens (ages 8-12) increased by 17% overall, with preteens spending 5 hours and 33 minutes a day on screens and teens spending 8 hours and 39 minutes a day on screens. The U.S. Surgeon General issued recommendations last year calling for new policies to set and enforce minimum ages and emphasizing the importance of limiting use of features such as algorithms that attempt to maximize time, attention, and engagement.

Austin Shipley is a staff writer for Yellow Hammer News.