Logging Off: How Michigan is Prioritizing Kids Over Clicks

A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance.

Technology has seemingly taken over everything, from the way we shop to the way we communicate, and even the way we raise our children. As a mom, I’m thankful for the resources social media can provide, but I’m also not immune to the mom shaming that comes from accidentally going viral when my son was just a baby. Screens are fixtures in classrooms, bedrooms, and pockets, and the platforms that fill them are engineered, by design, to keep users engaged as long as possible. For Michigan’s children and teenagers, the consequences of that calculated design are impossible to ignore, and for the Kids Code Coalition, they are unacceptable to tolerate.

Tech is everywhere. Almost every American teenager has a smartphone, and nearly half of teens say they are online “almost constantly.” In many ways we’re learning about its harms and benefits as we go, but it’s clear that it’s time to take a look at how our digital environment is shaping adolescence. Earlier this year, the Michigan Legislature took a meaningful first step by passing a School Cell Phone Ban, signed into law in February. Now, lawmakers have an opportunity to go further by passing a bold package of bills that would hold Big Tech accountable and put power back in the hands of parents.

The package includes four bills supported by the Michigan Kids Code Coalition, of which the League is a member. 

Senate Bill 757, the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, would prohibit social media platforms from pushing algorithmically driven, personal-data-based feeds to minors without explicit parental consent. Young people’s data should be protected, not used as tools built to exploit developing minds and maximize engagement at any cost. 

Senate Bills 758 and 759, the Kids Code, would establish enforceable standards for online platforms used by children by requiring stronger privacy and safety protections, banning targeted advertising aimed at kids, and expanding parental control over children’s accounts.

Senate Bill 760, the Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act, confronts a threat that is growing faster than most parents realize: AI companion chatbots designed to simulate emotional bonds with users. This legislation would block AI applications capable of encouraging self-harm, illegal behavior, or sexually explicit interactions from reaching children at all. Although it may sound like something out of a dystopian novel, AI chatbots have caused irreversible harm for too many families across the country and here in Michigan.

The Michigan League for Public Policy has spent decades fighting for policies that advance the well-being of Michigan families, especially those who have the least power to protect themselves. Children are among the most vulnerable people in our state, and right now, they are being targeted by some of the most sophisticated technology ever built. I know it’s my job as my son’s mom to keep him safe online, and I know that I shouldn’t have to do it all alone. Tech companies should stop making it easier for kids to get access to inappropriate material and harder for parents to keep inappropriate material away from their children. The Michigan Legislature has a chance to lead the nation in standing up for our kids.

Michigan has already shown it takes the mental health of young people seriously with significant investments in school-based mental health services that have helped ensure that students have access to the support they need within the walls of their own classrooms. This legislation is the next, necessary layer of that same protection. 

These bills have already cleared the Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection and have been debated on the floor. Now, as the Legislature returns from spring break, it’s time to finish the job.