The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation that requires privacy rights for children who use social media platforms.
The bill calls for tech companies to provide the highest privacy settings for young users, and it bans them from selling kids' personal information.
Chittenden Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, a Democrat, is the lead sponsor of the bill.
Ram Hinsdale said a number of social media companies engage in activities that harm kids. She added that they "track what [children] search for, track who they talk to, track where they go throughout the day and use all of that information to further harm, coerce and cause distress to our children."
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If enacted into law, it's likely the bill will face legal challenges. A spokesperson for a tech trade group previously said that the legislation "violates free speech rights protected by the First Amendment."
Another bill targeting kids and technology did not pass in the Senate. Lawmakers rejected a plan to ban cell phones in all Vermont schools.
The bill would have stopped students from using cell phones during the day at school because of concerns about social media access.
Some lawmakers pointed out that cell phones can be used as a learning aid, and they raised questions about adopting a statewide policy when individual schools already have the authority to issue their own local bans.
Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont's health commissioner, previously said that while he supports reducing kids' exposure to social media during school, he opposed this bill, calling it "heavy-handed and unrealistic."
Though they voted down this bill, the Senate is calling on the Agency of Education to draft a model policy that schools might consider using in the future.
The legislation will be considered in the House.
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