RICHMOND, Va. — A GOP legislative effort to prevent Virginia children from using the popular video-sharing app TikTok — an idea backed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin — died this week in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Del. Jay Leftwich, of Chesapeake, was left behind in a House committee after concerns were raised about how the ban would be enforced. Lawmakers also questioned whether singling out just one company was the right approach at a time of widespread and growing concern among parents and lawmakers about the effect of social media on young people.
The lack of movement on the bill effectively killed the measure due to a procedural deadline Tuesday for most legislation to clear the chamber of origin. No similar bill was introduced in the Senate.
Youngkin framed his call for a ban on children’s use of the app, which he released in a speech in December, as a tool to help protect children’s mental health, as part of his government’s broader approach on the issue .
Leftwich also said he drew the bill from concerns about mental health and data privacy for young people.
“The entire platform, especially for minors, is aimed at getting them engaged and addicted to watching these things. And it leads them down different rabbit holes and they sit there for hours looking at these things,” he said at a committee hearing.
Leftwich’s bill has undergone significant revision since the way it was first introduced. The most recent version said that TikTok Inc. and ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the app, “will not allow any child within the Commonwealth to access TikTok.”
The bill would have given a child’s parent or legal guardian the ability to file a lawsuit against TikTok if a child was granted access. And if a plaintiff prevails, they can seek $75,000 in damages for “each individual violation,” defined as each individual instance in which a child accessed the platform, along with other damages, according to the bill’s text.
The bill was heard once in a House committee that deals with technology laws. From there, on a bipartisan vote of 14-8, it went to another committee, where it was never heard.
Democrats raised a range of concerns during the hearing, including questions about enforceability and whether the government — and not parents — should be responsible for limiting children’s access to social media.
Leftwich responded that policymakers have banned children from accessing “harmful substances” such as alcohol and cannabis, and that he saw his proposal in the same light.
Del. Holly Seibold, a Democrat from Fairfax County, thanked Leftwich for filing the bill, saying she was a parent of teenagers and agreed that children are becoming addicted to social media apps and their cell phones in general.
“But I won’t support this bill because I think it’s unfair to single out TikTok,” she said.
A TikTok spokesperson, Jamal Brown, said in a statement that the company is working hard to support the well-being of teens on the app, with tools such as an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18, restrictions on direct messaging and parental controls. supervision. .
“We have long said that bans like the one proposed in this legislation are not only the wrong approach but also raise significant First Amendment concerns,” Brown said.
Macaulay Porter, Youngkin’s deputy communications director, said in a statement that the governor “remains committed to empowering Virginia parents and protecting youth across the Commonwealth from the harmful effects of social media.”
Youngkin previously banned the use of TikTok on state government devices and wireless networks through a 2022 executive order, citing national security concerns.
Other states and the federal government have taken similar steps to restrict the app’s use on government devices, with Montana passing an outright ban in 2023, which was later suspended before it could take effect by a federal judge who called it unconstitutional.
