This op-ed was co-authored by Tom Pandolfi, Public Policy Intern on Tech and Innovation at the Libertas Institute.
Officials across the country have introduced a wave of new restrictions on social media. These laws are unlikely to solve the harms associated with such platforms—indeed, they could exacerbate them.
In Texas, for example, Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed a law requiring app stores to handle age verification for social apps. Age verification has been tried before, with results that are mixed at best. When they were implemented for online pornography, searches skyrocketed for virtual private networks, which allow people to evade such restrictions; other users migrated to offshore platforms beyond U.S. regulation. Barring minors from social apps could easily lead to a series of similar loopholes or workarounds.
To read the full op-ed, click here.
