Parents, advocates and lobbyists are ramping up pressure on Republican Gov. Phil Scott to sign legislation that would change the rules of the road for Big Tech in Vermont.
The bill, which would give Vermonters the ability to sue large data brokers that misuse their personal information, is being heralded as the strongest data privacy bill in the country. The legislation would also force social media companies to make their platforms less addictive to kids.
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State and national advocacy groups joined concerned citizens at a press event in Burlington on Monday to urge enactment of the legislation, known as H.121.
Laura Derrendinger, a mother of four from Middletown Springs, told Vermont Public that she’s worried about the effects of social media platforms on teenage brains. As a former public health nurse, Derrendinger said she knows that suicide is a leading cause of death for adolescent youth. And she worries that social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, increase the risks of self-harm.
“And we need to go back to what we really have in Vermont, is making sure that our kids are going to have the opportunity to grow up and be healthy without the constant addictive pull of these devices,” she said.
The legislation, however, faces heavy opposition from the technology industry, in part because it establishes a new legal mechanism for consumers to hold companies liable for harm that results from the misuse of personal data.
A spokesperson for Scott told Vermont Public last month that the governor also has concerns about the “private right of action” contained in the legislation. And he said Scott hadn’t yet decided what he’ll do when the bill reaches his desk.
Derrendinger is among the many Vermonters who’ll be following Scott’s actions closely.
“What is at stake is the mental health of an entire generation of Vermont children,” she said.
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