Texas House Bill 186, a proposed bill that would ban social media for children under 18, has sparked significant debate for carving out several major platforms that children use daily and for potentially reducing parental rights.
HB 186 would carve out YouTube, the most popular social media among children, and Chinese-controlled TikTok – meaning the bill would fail to prevent children from accessing two of the most popular social media sites.
YouTube’s carve out from the bill is particularly concerning among advocates and parents because 90% of children 13-17 use YouTube, according to Pew Research. Additionally, YouTube Kids has been exposed for recommending transgender ideology and DEI videos to children without a parent’s consent.
Earlier this year, popular X account Libs of TikTok raised concerns with the inappropriate content available for children on YouTube Kids, posting, “YouTube kids introduces children to inappropriate drag shows and LGBTQ propaganda which teaches them they can be the opposite s*x. Why shouldn’t YouTube also be required to provide protections to kids?”
Libs of TikTok has also exposed transgender teachers attempting to indoctrinate children posted on TikTok as well.
House Bill 186’s selective approach raises questions about its effectiveness in safeguarding minors from potentially harmful online content in addition to concern about the government limiting parental rights and choice over what social media their children can use.
Casey Wiley, a Texas parent, told KWTX that he doesn’t think it’s the government’s job to decide if kids have social media. “It’s moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas that should be handling that,” said Wiley.
“I think parents should be involved in what their children are posting on social media and how to interact with others on social media but I don’t believe we should take those rights away from our children,” said another Texas mother, Ambrosia Larijani.
Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, has vocally opposed similar social media bans that also exclude sites like YouTube. Justice has argued that platforms like YouTube Kids can expose children to ideologies they might not be ready to process or understand fully and that parents should not have to “co-parent with the government.”
Earlier this month, another online safety bill, Senate Bill 2420 (the App Store Accountability Act), passed overwhelmingly out of the House and Senate and is waiting to be signed by Governor Abbott. SB 2420 – in contrast to HB 186 – would empower parents to decide what apps their children can download and require app stores to receive a parent’s approval before children can download any app – including social media apps.
While HB 186 would restrict a parent from being able to decide whether their child can have social media, SB 2420 will likely already help to protect kids online without preventing parents from being able to decide what apps or social media accounts they can have.
Social media bans similar to HB 186 have also been struck down in other states due to constitutional concerns. This year alone, social media bans have been struck down in Ohio and Arkansas.
House Bill 186 recently passed out of committee, but the Texas legislative session adjourns on June 2.
