- The Childhood Index ranked Utah tied for No. 1 in the nation for policies promoting healthy childhood.
- These include policies limiting addictive online features for minors and banning phones in classrooms.
- This year lawmakers are on track to pass child protections for AI chatbots and limiting tech in schools.
Utah ranked as one of two national leaders in a new analysis of policies meant to promote child wellbeing by regulating social media use for minors, restricting technology in the classroom and endorsing child independence.
The Childhood Index, released on Wednesday by the Anxious Generation Movement, identified Utah and New York as having created the best policy environments for online child safety and child development in the country.
The ranking took into account nine criteria, including, distraction-free schools, childhood independence, social media age limits, prohibitions on addictive app designs, litigation against Big Tech and political leadership.
“Utah has earned its National Leader title through groundbreaking efforts to regulate social media companies and reclaim childhood in the real world,“ the Index says.
“The state’s leaders have displayed real courage and are showing the rest of the country what is possible. Utah’s progress is making a difference, and their continued leadership will help kids and families across the country.”
What has Utah done to protect kids?
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has become a spokesperson for the harms of social media on young people, drawing the attention of top political journalists, policy writers and Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation.”
The Childhood Index calls Cox “a trailblazer in reclaiming childhood and protecting kids online” for policies he has championed. It also recognizes Attorney General Derek Brown for waging legal battles against Meta and TikTok.
In recent years, the Utah Legislature has led out on passing parental control requirements for social media, age verification requirements for app stores and recommending limited access to personal phones while in class.
This year, state lawmakers are on track to approve a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in schools, a ban on artificial intelligence chatbots having harmful conversations with minors and reducing the introduction of educational technology.
“Utah is leading the nation in protecting kids,” Cox said in a statement. “We’ve taken on addictive social media algorithms, passed one of the country’s toughest laws to protect kids online, and restored the freedom for kids to play, explore, and grow up in the real world.”
“We’re proud to be showing the country how to reclaim childhood.”
First child independence law
The index also took into account Utah’s first-in-the-nation reasonable childhood independence law, passed in 2018, which clarified it is not child neglect to allow a child, whose basic needs are met, to engage in independent activities.
Utah’s laws requiring social media companies and app stores to verify the ages of users, and to implement strict data and content policies for minors, are both being challenged in court on constitutional grounds.
“Every parent who allows a child on social media deserves to know that these platforms were engineered to be addictive,” Brown said in a statement. “As Utah’s Attorney General, I’ve taken on Snap, Meta, and TikTok in court for design choices that prioritize profit, endless scrolling, and constant engagement over children’s safety and well-being. Utah will not serve as Big Tech’s testing ground — we will protect our kids."
New York was recognized for mandating mental health warning labels for social media platforms, restricting addictive algorithms for minors, leading lawsuits against Meta and TikTok and ensuring phone-free schools.
The Index classifies six states as “rising stars” — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Texas and Vermont — 15 states as “emerging action” and the rest as “limited action,” including all of Utah’s neighboring states in the West.