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The horrific murder of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee of Fishers has prompted a swift and commendable response from legislators seeking to shield children from the darkest corners of technology and the internet.
Hailey was lured to Ohio through a gaming platform that enabled a predator to victimize her. In reaction, the Indiana Legislature acted with rare unanimity: all 100 House members and 50 senators supported new protections for Hoosier youth.
Gov. Mike Braun signed two bills inspired by her case, known as Hailey’s Law, which aim to improve alerts for at-risk teens, enhance grooming awareness and strengthen responses when children face online dangers. These measures take effect July 1.
Yet courts nationwide are already striking down similar efforts in other states, and Indiana’s laws may soon face federal challenges. That reality underscores the need for uniform national legislation.
Child advocates in Indiana, across the country and in Washington are pushing bills that target platform design and business practices rather than specific content — avoiding direct First Amendment conflicts over speech, association and the press.
Among several promising federal bills, two proposals from Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee are getting attention.
Lee’s App Store Accountability Act zeroes in on app stores like Apple’s and Google Play — the primary gateways for children’s apps. It empowers parents at the point of download by requiring privacy-protecting age verification for accounts. Minor accounts would link to a parental one, mandating approval for downloads, purchases or access.
The bill demands accurate age ratings and content descriptions, prohibits misuse of sensitive age data, and offers a safe harbor for compliant stores.
Blackburn’s Kids Online Safety Act — reintroduced with bipartisan support — takes a broader approach.
Focused on social media and platforms likely used by minors, it has passed the Senate before (91-3 in 2024). The measure would create a “duty of care,” requiring platforms to mitigate harms such as sexual exploitation, bullying, suicide promotion, eating disorders and exposure to illegal products.
It gives minors tools to limit data sharing, disable addictive features like certain algorithmic feeds and opt out of personalized content.
These bills address profound risks. Beyond tragic cases like Hailey’s, children face bullying, sextortion, suicidal ideation, financial scams and emerging psychological harms from addictive platforms.
Social media’s business model — maximizing engagement through dopamine-driven design — exploits developing brains, contributing to rises in anxiety, depression, sleep issues, self-harm and isolation.
Imagine a company secretly recording children at a playground, analyzing their interactions to craft addictive products and ads without parental consent. Outrage would be immediate.
Yet major platforms do far more: harvesting vast personal data, tailoring content to hook users, and profiting from prolonged exposure — all while treating minors like adult consumers. Research, parent testimonies and even internal documents confirm these harms are not accidental but engineered for profit.
Complementary efforts like the Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act, or SHASM, and Guidelines for User Age-verification and Dialogue Act, or GUARD, further target addictive features of the internet and Artificial Intelligence. These measures share the goal of restoring family authority while respecting constitutional bounds through
age estimation.
Children are not experiments, and their data is not a commodity. Their minds deserve safeguards as robust as those in the physical world.
Artificial intelligence only heightens the urgency, amplifying platforms’ ability to target and addict.
Congress should advance Lee’s and Blackburn’s measures — and related reforms — to create consistent, effective protections.
Indiana’s action shows bipartisan will at the state level; uniform federal standards can turn that momentum into lasting national safety for our kids.•
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Smith is chairman of the Indiana Family Institute and author of “Deicide: Why Eliminating The Deity is Destroying America.” Send comments to [email protected].
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