SC Joins Legal Fight to Protect Children from Social Media Harms

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced that the state is joining a coalition of 27 states and Washington, D.C., in a legal brief supporting Florida’s law aimed at protecting children from the harmful effects of social media. This action is part of a growing national effort to regulate platforms that are accused of using addictive design features to target minors.

The coalition’s legal brief argues that social media companies have knowingly developed features that contribute to a rise in teen depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. According to the document, these companies use tactics similar to those once employed by the tobacco industry to keep young users “glued to screens.”

Florida’s law, which the coalition is defending, prohibits social media companies from engaging with users under the age of 16 through features like autoplay videos, push notifications, and infinite scrolling without parental consent. The attorneys general argue that the law is a common-sense measure that regulates harmful features, not speech, and is therefore consistent with the First Amendment.

The legal brief urges the reversal of a lower court ruling that had blocked Florida from enforcing its law. The states in the coalition contend that relying on parental controls alone has proven to be ineffective against companies that spend billions to engineer addictive platforms.

The support for Florida’s law comes as other states, including South Carolina, are also considering similar legislation to protect children from the documented mental health crisis linked to excessive social media use.