

By Brian Beach , Nebraska Public Media
Nebraska-State senators in the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee considered on Monday a proposal to limit the addictive design features of social media apps for minors.
Sen. Carolyn Bosn introduced LB504, also known as the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act, at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen. It gives the Nebraska Attorney General the authority to hold companies like Meta and Snapchat accountable for causing harm to minors through phone addiction and identity theft.
Bosn said she became interested in the legislation over a year ago when she attended a National Conference of State Legislatures event in Indianapolis.
“One of the lessons was on technology and social media and its impact on kids, and it was profound,” she said.
She said the legislation is an effort to protect children from the harms of frequent social media use, such as increased anxiety and lower test scores.
“We think about safe design features in every other product we provide our most vulnerable children. So why wouldn’t we do that online?” she said.
Jill Edmundson, who has worked as a software developer for CSG International and Mutual of Omaha, testified in favor of the bill. She shared the story of her 9-year-old daughter developing anorexia because of an algorithm promoting pro-anorexia influencers.
“What started off as just innocent searches where she wanted to keep up with cheer and how to keep her tumbling skills, fed the algorithm into body shaming and pro anorexia content,” she said.
Edmundson said the disease ‘shattered’ her family and inspired her to advocate for digital safety legislation.
” I’m a capitalist. I’m a software developer. I’m all about monetizing what makes sense, but not at the expense of this generation,” she said. “If we invented a car absent brakes, how long would we wait until we put brakes in before we put our kids in?”
Opponents of the legislation said it is likely unconstitutional because it has the potential to infringe on the first amendment rights. A similar bill requiring social media companies to follow certain design standards for minors was passed in California in 2022. That bill was later struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court.
Anton van Seventer, who came from Washington D.C. to testify against the bill on behalf of the Software and Information Industry Association, said some provisions of LB504 could cause negative outcomes for Nebraskans.
“They do, unfortunately, create unnecessary constitutional infirmities, as many have said, threaten a degree of free speech in Nebraska-based innovation, and they risk also hamstringing local businesses, while potentially silencing Nebraska residents and even parents,” he said.
He also said he is “quite confident” the bill is unconstitutional.
Committee member Sen. Eliot Bostar pushed back on van Seventer’s testimony, questioning why he would travel so far to oppose a bill that would ultimately be struck down.
“If we’re on the verge of considering passage of something that you have a high degree of confidence is unconstitutional, why make the trip?” Bostar said.
The committee will consider whether to advance the bill to the full Legislature for additional debate.