Nebraska is the latest country to combat how children use social media. The state’s governor Jim Pillen recently signed a set of bills designed to limit certain social media features that make kids obsessed with the platform. The final bill signed, called the “Age-friendly Online Design Code Act,” would require companies to provide content about time limits, limit certain categories, and provide chronological arrangements rather than promoting infinite scrolling.
Age-friendly online design code method, also known as LB504, social media companies can only collect minimal personal data from younger users and provide parents with more tools to limit how their children are used. In addition to these restrictions, the law prohibits any advertisements related to gambling, alcohol, tobacco or drugs from reaching children on social media.
In addition to the LB504, the signed bill pack includes the LB140, which limits the LB383 of students using smartphones in school, which requires social media companies to verify the age of their users and require parental consent to create an account, while LB172 creates criminal penalties for AI to generate porn.
“Overall, all of these bills are for helping our teachers and giving our schools the opportunity to teach our children, rather than being disrupted in the classroom,” Piren said in a press release. “They also provide parents with the tools they need to protect our children from large tech online companies and predators.”
The law is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2026, and any company that violates these new regulations will face civil penalties. Nebraska is the latest state to limit the use of social media for minors, but Texas is trying to pass a similar ban. Members of the Internet advocacy group NetChoice, a member of Google, Meta and X, have expressed criticism of the efforts of these states, saying they violate First Amendment rights and user privacy. In 2022, California signed a similar law to protect underage users, but has since been in a legal battle that claims to infringe on the right to freedom of speech after Netchoice’s lawsuit.
