Rep. Jon Eubanks of Paris (left) and Sen. Tyler Dees of Siloam Springs, both Republicans, talk to reporters in the Arkansas Capitol on Jan. 29, 2025. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Two days after a federal judge permanently blocked Arkansas’ Social Media Safety Act, state lawmakers filed two bills Wednesday aimed at expanding social media protections for children.
Senate Bill 611 would amend Act 689 of 2023 (the Social Media Safety Act), apparently to address some of the judge’s reasons for ruling as he did. Act 689 was the first of its kind in the nation and was a priority of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her first year in office. It required social media platforms to verify the age of new account holders in Arkansas. Those under 18 could only access sites with parental permission.
Senate Bill 612 would create a right for parents to sue social media platforms if their child develops eating disorders, self-harms, commits or tries to commit suicide, or becomes addicted to the platform’s feeds because of content the child was exposed to.
Both bills establish a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation.
Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, and Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, are chief sponsors of both bills.
In January, Sanders called on the Legislature to amend the Social Media Safety Act so it wouldn’t be held up in court any longer. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas had temporarily blocked it in August 2023, shortly before it was to take effect. Brooks on Monday ruled that law violated the First Amendment and the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Sanders also asked lawmakers in January to create a right for parents to sue social media platforms if their children kill themselves because of content encouraging them to self-harm. The governor noted the presence of a woman in the gallery whose child died by suicide.
In a press release Wednesday announcing the filing of SB 611 and 612, Sanders noted that Arkansas “has led the nation on commonsense, conservative reforms to protect kids online, and these additional protections continue that effort.”
“Moms and dads whose kids have fallen victim to Big Tech deserve the right to take action against these abusive companies and Arkansas law should protect kids so they aren’t subjected to toxic material in the first place.”
Eubanks and Dees echoed Sanders’ comments.
“This legislation keeps our children safe online, and puts their safety where it should be in the hands of parents,” Eubanks said in the press release.
SB 612 “establishes a private right of action for parents whose child commits suicide or attempts suicide because of his or her exposure to toxic material on social media, allowing them to sue abusive Big Tech companies in state court,” Sanders’ press release says.
The amendments to Act 689 in SB 611 more clearly define social media and apply the definition to more platforms, lower the age of minor users to 16, prohibit social media algorithms from targeting minors, and add a penalty for companies that do not comply, according to the press release.
The regulations would apply only to new accounts, it said.
This new legislation follows Sanders’ signing of the Bell to Bell, No Cell Act in February that bans personal electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, in schools. That bill was also sponsored by Dees and Eubanks.
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