Apr 13, 2023 - Politics

Democrats reject proposal requiring parent approval for social media

Ned Oliver

Illustration of the Virginia State Capitol with lines radiating from it. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Seventeen-year-olds will not need their parents' permission to sign up for Twitter accounts in Virginia any time soon.

What’s happening: In a party-line vote during Wednesday's veto session, lawmakers in the state Senate rejected a legislative amendment proposed by Gov. Youngkin that would have required social media sites to verify that any users under 18 have parental approval.

Catch up fast: "Under the governor’s amendments, the current protections for online privacy for children under the age of 13 would be extended to all children," Youngkin’s press secretary, Macaulay Porter, told the Virginia Mercury ahead of Wednesday's vote.

The other side: Democrats in the chamber called the proposal unrealistic.

"Trying to prevent people from trying to see things on the internet is like standing on the beach and trying to stop the tide from coming in," Sen. Chap Petersen argued.

Meanwhile, lawmakers approved Youngkin's amendments loosening a ban on THC hemp products in an effort to reduce the impact on retailers of non-intoxicating CBD products.

They sustained all three of Youngkin’s vetoes.
And they honored Abigail Zwerner, the first-grade teacher shot by one of her students in Newport News, with a resolution hailing her "courage and dedication to the safety of her students."

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Democrats reject proposal requiring parent approval for social media

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