NY proposes guidelines for SAFE Act to protect kids online with age verification and parental approval

The New York Attorney General’s Office released proposed guidelines Monday for the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act to protect kids from addictive algorithms.

“The proposed rule defines terms and outlines standards to ensure covered online platforms do not provide addictive feeds or nighttime notifications to minors, including standards for effective, secure, and privacy-protective age assurance,” the AG’s office reported.

The SAFE Act, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law June 2024, protects kids from addictive online content and interrupted sleep from night-time social media use and notifications.

“This bill would prohibit social media platforms from providing an addictive feed to children younger than 18 without parental consent and prohibits social media platforms from withholding non-addictive feed products or services where that consent is not obtained,” the law reads.

The addictive algorithms are harmful to children, whose brains are developing and often unable to resist the stream of content, the law reasons.

“Children are particularly susceptible to addictive feeds because they provide a non-stop drip of dopamine with each new piece of media and because children are less capable of exercising the impulse control necessary to mitigate these negative effects,” the act states. “Research shows that spending time on social media is ten times more dangerous than other kinds of screentime.”

The law also details how algorithms track “hundreds of thousands of data points” to present online content that hook viewers for “dangerously long periods of time.” Medical research on children’s mental health has linked these hours on social media to increased depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.

Citing these dangers, the SAFE Act requires social media companies to implement age verification and parental-permission processes. After the bill passed, the AG’s office last year released two Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for the SAFE for Kids Act and the NY Child Data Protection Act. These ANPRMs allowed for public comment before the AG released the official proposed rules this September.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outline which social media platforms the Act applies to, how to carry out age verification and how to implement parental approvals. The guidelines exempt any online platform with less than five million users, unless that platform is specifically designed for children. Common online platforms that must implement the new policies include Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

The age verification process requires at least one form of identification that is non-government issued, as young children do not possess driver’s license. Social media companies can choose to implement facial recognition technology to confirm the likely age of the child. Every social media company must receive annual certification for each age-assurance method, according to the guidelines.

If a company violates these policies, it faces up to $5,000 in fines for each violation, according to the law. The AG’s release of the proposed rules begins a 60-day public comment period. After this period concludes, the AG’s office has one year to finalize the rules. The law goes into effect 180 days after the rules are final, The Verge reports.