Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday she will sign a bill passed by the Legislature last week that would require new users, under age 18, of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter will need the consent of a parent or guardian to create online profiles.
"We think that this helps us do a better job of protecting kids in the state of Arkansas and that's a good thing, so, absolutely, I plan to sign," Huckabee Sanders said at a news conference.
"We're going to continue look at every way we can engage in this process to hold Big Tech companies accountable, something that hasn't been done, and as much as we can continue down that process, we're going to. We think this is a great first step of holding social media companies accountable and protecting kids for the long haul."
The GOP holds wide margins of control in the state House and Senate. The House passed SB 396, or the "Social Media Safety Act," on Wednesday by an 82-10 vote, with 10 of the chambers' 18 Democrats voting in favor of the bill. The Senate passed the bill Thursday by a 21-3 vote, with two of the chambers' six Democrats, Linda Chesterfield and Fredrick Love, voting in favor, sending it to Huckabee-Sanders' desk.
Under the bill, social media companies must use a third-party vendor to perform "reasonable age verification" before allowing access to their platforms. State digital ID cards, a digital copy of a driver's license, government ID, or other "commercially reasonable" method can be used for verification.
Social media companies could face civil or criminal charges if they knowingly fail to perform reasonable age verification. Companies who are found in violation could pay penalties to an individual, including a $2,500 fine for each infraction and damages resulting from a minor accessing social media without parental consent.
"Our goal is protecting kids," said Huckabee Sanders, "empowering parents to make the best decision possible. We know how harmful social media can be to kids and by putting this piece of legislation in effect, we do not impact current users, only new users and only residents here in the state. Out-of-state people who come here to visit will not be impacted.
"But anyone under the age of 18 with a new social media account will be verified by a parent. Doesn't mean they can't have it; they just have to have verification in order to do so."
On March 23, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to enact such legislation when Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill passed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
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