Social media regulations targeting kids advance in Illinois House

Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a bill designed to limit addictive social media features for minors. The proposal would require platforms to change how content is delivered and restrict certain functions for users under 18.

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Photo: Tati Odintsova/Unsplash

by Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - A bill to regulate social media companies and the features they make available to minors is advancing in the Statehouse.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House voted 82-27 to pass House Bill 5511, also known as the Children’s Social Media Safety Act. Gov. JB Pritzker proposed the bill, which is designed to make social media scrolling less addictive for children.

“What this bill is really designed to address is the weaponization of your data, your personal habits in a way that keeps kids glued and addicted to the screen,” bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, said.

The bill does not limit social media use to certain ages but does require platforms to allow users setting up an account to input their age, which would trigger certain settings on the device for users under 18 years old.

The bill mandates that information used to generate a social media feed cannot be “persistently associated with the user’s device” and based on content the user previously shared or interacted with. Users must follow the creator of the content or person who shares it to see the content in their feed. Additional content could only be provided to the user when they search for it.

The bill would also require social media platforms to have default privacy settings for minors that would stop addictive feeds, location sharing and transactions with digital currency. Platforms would also be prohibited from sending notifications to minor users between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Companies that violate the law would have to pay fines.

The changes would take effect in 2028, and despite cracking down in some areas, Gong-Gershowitz said there won’t be restrictions on the content kids see.

Photo: dole777/Unsplash

“This bill does not include any content moderation or allow parents to monitor what children are doing online,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “It simply targets a harmful design feature like addictive algorithms that are designed to keep kids online. Children can still see the same content.”

Pritzker, some Republicans back it

Pritzker called on lawmakers during his February State of the State address to advance regulations.

“Everywhere I go, parents tell me one of their deepest concerns is the impact social media is having on their kids,” Pritzker said in his address. “It’s a challenge unique to this generation. And it is made worse by the perverse incentive that social media companies seem to have to keep kids scrolling no matter what the cost to their physical and mental health.”

Tackling children’s addictions to social media has been a bipartisan priority in Springfield in recent years and nine House Republicans joined Democrats in advancing the measure to the Senate.

“Up until this point, we haven’t had a lot of guardrails when it comes to social media use in our state,” Rep. Nicole La Ha, R-Lemont, told Capitol News Illinois. “Being a mom of school aged children, I think it’s really important that we start to have those conversations.”

La Ha said she is looking forward to using parental controls to make sure the content her kids see on their feeds is appropriate for their age.

Other Republicans said they supported the concept of the bill but would vote against it until more changes were made in the Senate.

Pritzker is also pushing lawmakers to tax social media companies based on the number of users they have in Illinois.

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TAGS: Illinois social media bill for minors, Children’s Social Media Safety Act Illinois, JB Pritzker social media regulation plan, Illinois House Bill 5511 details, social media restrictions for kids Illinois

University of Michigan study finds people of color, rural residents bear brunt of factory farm pollution

A new University of Michigan study finds that people of color, rural residents and uninsured populations living near Illinois concentrated animal feeding operations face measurably worse air quality and significantly higher rates of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.

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by Judith Ruiz-Branch
Public News Service

As Illinois considers measures to tighten regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations, a recent study highlighted the disproportionate health and environmental impacts of meat production on vulnerable populations.

Several bills propose stricter rules on large- and medium-sized operations by increasing local control, expanding setback distances from residential areas, and requiring water supply reports for expansions. Data from the University of Michigan shows these facilities contribute to significantly worse air quality for surrounding communities.

Dimitris Gounaridis, assistant research scientist and lecturer at the University of Michigan, said people of color, rural residents and uninsured populations make up the majority of those residing in neighboring areas.

"The meat we are eating and consuming has some costs," Gounaridis explained. "We prove once and for all that proximity to those facilities means lower air quality and health issues."

It is estimated there are more than 21,000 concentrated animal feeding operations in Illinois. Gounaridis pointed out the research team has made their dataset publicly available for the first time in hopes of providing systematic evidence for targeted government or organizational interventions.

Meat production facilities produce various harmful chemicals, including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane and particulate matter. Gounaridis noted fine particulate matter are extremely small particles, which linger in the air for extended periods of time, and no amount is safe to inhale.

"It's directly associated with (a) 4% increase in overall mortality and (a) 6% increase in cardiovascular mortality and (an) 8% increase in lung cancer," Gounaridis outlined. "That's very, very high."

Gounaridis added health effects have been observed in communities up to 10 miles away. He stressed the concentration of large operations and other meat processing farms in specific locations like the Midwest enables more targeted interventions.

He suggested increased regulations and infrastructure to prevent pollution spread adding public health information campaigns are also needed to provide education and resources for the high population of nearby uninsured residents.

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TAGS: Illinois factory farm air quality health risks, concentrated animal feeding operations near homes, CAFO pollution effects on rural communities, University of Michigan meat industry study, environmental justice Illinois livestock farms

Illinois women help drive landmark end-of-life reform

Advocates say Illinois women played a defining role in the state’s newly passed medical aid-in-dying law. Their stories and leadership helped shape the first legislation of its kind in the Midwest.

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by Judith Ruiz-Branch
Public News Service

CHICAGO - March is Women’s History Month and an organization advocating for end-of-life reform is highlighting the significant role of women from Illinois in driving the movement.

The state recently became the first in the Midwest to legalize medical aid in dying.

Callie Riley, regional advocacy director for Compassion & Choices, said Illinois residents Suzy Flack and Deborah Robertson were instrumental in getting the legislation passed. Riley noted the bill is nicknamed “Deb's Law” because of Robertson, who served as a leader despite living with a rare form of cancer.

"The work we do is really driven by the stories of people who are directly impacted by both good end-of-life care and end-of-life care that falls short," Riley explained. "In my experience, so many of our storytellers, our volunteers, our leaders, our advocates are women."

Riley pointed out Flack became an advocate after witnessing her son, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, die peacefully and autonomously using medical aid in another state. Deb’s Law takes effect in Illinois in September.

Riley added the historical roots of the movement for better end-of-life-care dates back to the early HIV epidemic. Alternative care networks developed because people living with HIV and AIDS did not receive adequate care from the traditional medical system.

"It was predominantly women providing that care; queer women, straight women, people who knew and loved people who were living with HIV," Riley recounted. "To me, it's not surprising that has continued."

Riley stressed increased advocacy has created a dialogue about the importance of autonomy in end-of-life decisions, with supporters long pushing for medical aid in dying legislation in Illinois. It is currently legal in 12 other states.

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TAGS: Illinois women advocates, Deb’s Law Illinois, medical aid in dying Midwest, Compassion & Choices Illinois, end-of-life reform movement