As a parent, it’s natural to want to protect our children from inappropriate content online and keep track of their screen time. Fortunately, most phones have built-in features and third-party apps for setting up parental controls. Parents can set restrictions and limit access to specific apps and content to help keep their children safe when using smartphones. 

This is why I was alarmed to discover that Governor Cox signed SB 152 and HB 311 into law. These bills will prevent our children from learning how to engage with social media safely and, in doing so, completely change Utah’s relationship with technology. With parental controls already in place, we can allow our children to explore and learn on their phones and develop healthy habits while providing a safe and secure digital environment. 

Requiring social media companies to limit access to youth accounts to specific hours or a total amount of daily time is unnecessary and complicated.

Luke McDermott, South Jordan

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