The two bills — the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act and the Child Data Protection Act — have received fierce opposition from Big Tech companies that have also sought to arm their lobbying and advocacy cause with an array of well-established nonprofit organizations that represent the interests of immigrants, minorities, youth and LGBTQ New Yorkers.
"It is my priority to ensure that these nation leading bills are passed before the Legislature goes home and we are making progress," Hochul said during a news conference at the Capitol. "Parents, everyone from infants to 18-year-olds, are worried about the uncontrolled world of social media influences, and ... the uncertain future that lies ahead if we don't put on the brakes now."
Numerous lawmakers familiar with the negotiations previously told the Times Union the Internet safety measures are expected to pass overwhelmingly in both the Assembly and the Senate.
"These algorithms are like heat-seeking missiles that seek out and prey upon the insecurities and vulnerabilities of young users," said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat who has led efforts in the Senate to pass the legislation. "We have an urgency, a deep sense of urgency, to act. Parents are expecting us to act; young people are expecting us to act; teachers are expecting us to act; concerned folks in our lives are expecting us to act. And so we cannot leave this legislative session without taking action."
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, a Queens Democrat and the chief Assembly sponsor of both bills, also attended the governor's news conference and said the bills will help curb "digital exploitation. ... We're talking about millions of minors across the state."
The lawmakers also have gained support of numerous organizations, many of them influential, that include Common Sense Media, the state School Boards Association, New York State United Teachers union, multiple urban leagues, Mothers Against Media Addiction and the United Federation of Teachers.
Some of the most coordinated opposition has been organized by Tech: NYC, which is behind the Inclusive Internet Coalition, and had early in its efforts managed to gain support from the New York Civil Liberties Union, Hispanic Federation, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, New Immigrant Community Empowerment and the Asian American Federation.
Will Chabot, a spokesman for Tech: NYC and the Inclusive Internet Coalition, told the Times Union in March that after a bill intended to regulate social media was introduced last year by Gounardes, officials with Tech: NYC "began reaching out to the groups representing communities that might be adversely impacted, including LGBTQ+, immigrant, elderly communities and more."
Chabot noted that a provision of the legislation that would set age and identity verification requirements "could have prevented people without government IDs, such as undocumented immigrants, from accessing the Internet to find legal services."
"The New York Inclusive Internet Coalition was formed out of these conversations to educate communities about the harmful unintended consequences this legislation would have for many New Yorkers, and lift up their voices and perspectives for a wider audience," he said.
The data protection act would prohibit online sites from "collecting, using, sharing, or otherwise processing any personal data of individuals under the age of 18 without informed consent. It also prohibits disclosing any data of minors to third parties unless there is a written binding agreement."
The SAFE for Kids Act would "prohibit social media platforms from providing an addictive feed to children younger than 18 without parental consent and prohibits social media platforms from withholding non-addictive feed products or services where that consent is not obtained."
The stated purposed of that bill is to protect the mental health of children who lawmakers said become addicted to social media platforms.
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