North Carolina schools would be required to teach students about social media risks under a bill advancing in the state legislature. Lawmakers are also trying to use the measure to enact cellphone restrictions in classrooms.
House Bill 959, which passed a key Senate committee Wednesday, would require schools to offer social media literacy lessons. They would educate students on social media’s "effects on health, including social, emotional, and physical effects." Students would learn about the consequences of social media use once in elementary school, once in middle school and twice in high school. Schools would be required to teach them about social media addiction, misinformation, manipulation, cyberbullying, personal security and the permanency of the internet, among many other things.
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It’s one of several measures seeking to regulate social media use passing through the General Assembly.
Earlier this month, the House passed a bill that would ban social media accounts for children younger than 14. It would also require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds to use social media.
Federal law requires a minimum age of 13 to create an account, but children can easily get around bans. To address that, House Bill 301 would allow the state to fine social media companies $50,000 each time a younger teen sets up an account. Families of teens who managed to get around the rules would also be allowed to sue the companies for up to $10,000.
Another proposal, House Bill 462, seeks to ban anyone younger than 18 from using social media without parental permission and require all social media users to show ID to sign up for an account. That measure stalled in the House before a key legislative deadline, meaning it’s unlikely to pass during this session.
Cellphone restrictions
Members of a Senate education committee on Wednesday amended the bill — which had already passed through the House unanimously — to include the Senate's preferred policy restricting cellphones and other devices in classrooms.
The Senate and House each have passed bills that would restrict cellphone use in schools but haven't negotiated a compromise on which one to ultimately enact, though the broad concept of restrictions to reduce classroom distractions has wide bipartisan support.
Both bills require school boards to pass system-wide policies cracking down on cellphones at a minimum.
House Bill 87 focuses only on cellphones, while Senate Bill 55 requires schools to restrict access to electronic devices, including laptops or tablets, during instructional time. Both bills would have exemptions for when a teacher authorizes their use for instruction or for use in addressing a student's personal health or disability needs. The Senate bill has an additional exemption for when a teacher allows device use in the event of an emergency.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has called for cellphone restrictions in schools during his State of the State address in March. Last month, he launched a new council to focus on student safety and well-being. One of its priorities is examining cellphone use in classrooms.
TikTok ban
The social media literacy bill, HB 959, would also require school boards to pass policies that would prevent students from accessing inappropriate content and short-form video app TikTok when using school internet or devices. Schools largely already have some filters in place.
Other measures have targeted TikTok this session.
Senate Bill 408, which passed in the chamber earlier this month, would ban people from using TikTok or WeChat if they’re using phones, tablets, WiFi networks or other property owned by the state government or any local government. The apps have raised concerns with U.S. officials over their ties to the Chinese government.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper already banned state employees from using TikTok and WeChat on government-owned devices in a 2023 executive order. Senate Bill 408 would expand the ban if it becomes law.