Washington, D.C. — In response to news that the New York State legislature has passed — and Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to sign into law — a pair of bills prohibiting social media companies from, among other provisions, using algorithms to provide content to minors without parental consent and targeting advertising to children without parental consent, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“Today is a good day for New York parents, and a significant win for everyone who is rightfully concerned about Big Tech’s corrosive influence over our lives,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “For years, Google, Facebook, and other social media platforms have made the monetization of children’s data a key part of their business strategies. By banning algorithms that drive harmful content and addiction and eliminating the ability to target advertising to children, these bills send a powerful message that Big Tech’s profits are not more important than children’s wellbeing — and that lawmakers are mobilizing to assert public power over companies that have done well-documented harm to society.”

“Amid a nationwide debate about protecting kids online and the broader harms of Big Tech, New York is setting a clear example of what effective social media regulation looks like,” Garofalo added. “We encourage other states to follow suit.”

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.