Supporters of a new package of tech bills in the Michigan Senate claim the legislation will protect children from online predation.
“We introduced Senate Bills 757–760 to better protect Michigan kids from the well-documented dangers of unfettered social media and AI usage,” Michigan Senate Democrats say on their Kids Over Clicks website. “Crafted in tandem with industry experts, advocates, and parents, this bill package holds Big Tech accountable for unethical practices, empowers Michigan parents with more control and transparency, and addresses emerging risks associated with AI and social media use.”
Unfortunately, these bills raise serious constitutional concerns, are unlikely to be effective, and threaten to create new problems on top of the problems the bills fail to address.
The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act, Senate Bill 757 would prohibit social media platforms from recommending content to anyone via an algorithm unless they verify that the internet user is over 18 years of age or obtain verifiable parental consent. Social media addiction is a real problem, for adults and for children. But the SAFE for Kids bill would do little to address it.
The proposed law and other bills in the package raise significant constitutional problems. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down such laws in the cases Reno vs. ACLU and Ashcroft vs. ACLU ruling that these laws place too great a burden on First Amendment speech rights. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District recently upheld part of California’s Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, but the constitutional history of this type of law is not strong.
Even if the SAFE law could pass legal scrutiny, it likely would do more to endanger children online than protect them. The SAFE Act would put children’s sensitive data at greater privacy and security risks, because a social media company would be forced to verify that each user is not a minor. This means the platform would have to require that users turn over birthdays and other sensitive personally identifiable information, likely by demanding government-issued documents.
Large-scale mandatory collection of highly sensitive government identification data increases the risks that it will be captured and misused. Forcing people to provide personal information in order to get access to a website often makes them more unsafe in a world where data breaches hit an all-time record in 2025.
A particular risk with any age verification provision is that many children will still access social media, whether through workarounds, shared devices, or turning to less regulated platforms. If so, having these bills enacted could ultimately make it harder to protect them.
Similarly, Senate Bills 758 and 759 would mandate automatic data privacy and safety settings for minors on digital platforms. Kids Over Clicks claims that these requirements are “giving parents more control over their children’s online accounts.” Even if these bills are found constitutional, such mandates actually give parents much less control. Instead, they give the government, and specifically the Michigan Attorney General, the power to make these decisions through how the law is enforced. Every child has different needs and different levels of preparation for viewing such materials online. Parents and guardians are in the best position to make these decisions, not government lawyers.
Finally, the proposed Leading Ethical AI Development for Kids Act, Senate Bill 760, would regulate operators of companion chatbots and how they are made available to children. While this bill attempts to address a legitimate concern, what the bill would ban is extremely overbroad. The proposed law defines a chatbot as a “generative artificial intelligence system with natural language interface that simulates a sustained humanlike relationship with a user.” That appears to include natural language processing applications like voice assistants, customer service chatbots and educational tutors, which can be beneficial to minors.
Moreover, the LEAD bill would give courts unprecedented power to order how companies develop and train AI applications. Judges without technical expertise will dictate private research and development processes. This is government overreach into private innovation and risk which will undermine development of artificial intelligence.
While the sponsors of these bills may have good intentions, pursuing these policies would distract from solutions that are constitutional and will actually make a difference. Much better options are available. They could include government initiatives to educate parents on parental controls already in place.
Rather than empower prosecutors to make website design decisions they are not qualified to make, lawmakers should give them the resources to lock up more predators and cybercriminals who target children. New laws could be helpful, but they must be narrowly tailored to punish bad actors while respecting the protected rights of Americans and empowering parents to make better decisions.
