* This recent story in Fortune magazine started me thinking about the governor’s proposals to ban mobile phones in school classrooms and the “Children’s Social Media Safety Act”…

YouTube cofounder Steve Chen said at a talk at the Stanford Graduate School of Business last year that he wouldn’t want his kids consuming only short-form content, noting that it might be better to limit kids to videos longer than 15 minutes. […]

At the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, early Facebook investor and billionaire Peter Thiel joined Chen among the ranks of tech leaders who are setting strict limits on screens. Thiel said he only lets his two young children use screens for an hour-and-a-half per week, a revelation that prompted audible gasps from the audience. […]

Other tech CEOs, including Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, and Tesla’s Elon Musk, have also spoken about limiting their children’s access to devices. Gates has said he did not give his children smartphones until age 14 and banned phones at the dinner table entirely. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, in 2018, said he limits his child to the same 1.5 hours per week of screen time as Thiel. And finally, Musk, who bought the social media company X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, said it “might’ve been a mistake” to not set any rules on social media for his children. […]

Scientific research backs up their parenting instincts. A 2025 study of nearly 100,000 people found that short-form video use was consistently associated with poorer cognition and a decline in many aspects of mental health across both younger and older social media users.

* From the governor’s one-pager on the classroom phone ban…

School districts would be required to adopt the set of policies that best fits their needs within the following parameters:

• Banning Personal Devices During the School Day: Wireless communication devices will be banned for the entire school day, with the following exceptions:

o Schools must allow exceptions:
▪ When a medical professional determines that the possession or use of a wireless communication device is necessary for the management of a student’s health care.
▪ To fulfill an Individualized Education Plan or 504 plan.
▪ When the device is necessary for students who are English learners to access learning materials, participate in class, or otherwise facilitate communication.
▪ When a student is a caregiver and is routinely responsible for the care and wellbeing of a family member.

o Schools may choose to allow exceptions:
▪ For high school students to access their phone during their lunch period.
▪ In the event of an emergency or in response to an imminent threat.
▪ When a teacher or instructor has authorized the student to use a wireless communication device for educational purposes—e.g. Chromebook use, technology-based activities, etc.

o Enforcement of these policies via fines, fees, suspensions, expulsions, ticketing, or deployment of a School Resource Officer or a local law enforcement officer will be prohibited.
• Creating Device Storage Options: Each school district will identify guidelines for wireless device storage during the school day that best fits their needs to prevent use, loss, or theft.

* And this is from the governor’s summary of the Children’s Social Media Safety Act (HB5511/SB3977)…

Big tech companies have abandoned their responsibility to keep kids safe online, with social media presenting as a growing concern for parents and families in Illinois and across the nation. Numerous studies show that tech companies have knowingly designed features and algorithms designed to encourage overuse—leaving young people vulnerable to numerous health concerns like eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. In addition to algorithms, strangers have made more inroads than ever before to exploit and potentially harm children. Parents need more tools to protect their kids, and kids need to know they are safe when they’re online.

The Children’s Social Media Safety Act will:

• Prohibit social media companies from providing an addictive feed and sending nighttime notifications for users under 18, decreasing the harmful effects of social media use.
• Increase child safety online by requiring social media companies to apply default privacy settings based on a user’s age to protect the user’s location data and profile information.
• Prevent financial abuse by requiring apps and websites to obtain parental consent for in- app purchases and financial transactions between children and unknown users.
• Allow parents to choose which online actions they want their children to engage in.

How will this work for families?

When a parent or guardian is setting up a new device with their child, the device’s operating system will be required to confirm the child’s age. The device will share the child’s age with apps when downloaded, which will then be required to enact default settings based on that age. Once that’s done, the Children’s Social Media Safety Act requires the device to share a general age range with websites and apps who are required to use the following default settings for kids:

• No addicting algorithmic feeds
• No nighttime notifications
• No on-platform location sharing
• No user profile sharing
• No in-app purchases without parental consent
• No financial transactions between children and unknown users

As we’ve discussed, he’s also proposing a $200 million “fee” on social media companies that’s advertised as going to education.

Anyway, your thoughts?