A bipartisan Senate bill to ban social media access for kids younger than 13 that sailed through committee is facing pushback from digital rights and tech trade groups that say it’s unconstitutional and overly intrusive.
The bill, which the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved by voice vote on Feb. 5, is a bipartisan measure from Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, with a slate of co-sponsors from both parties.
“Kids need time to be kids to experience the real world, not to get lost in the virtual one,” Cruz said at a Commerce Committee markup of the legislation. The bipartisan backing and easy vote is one indication the legislation has legs.
